A 14-year-old girl from Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, who was found set on fire under mysterious circumstances on January 28, succumbed to her injuries on Saturday after undergoing treatment for severe burns. 

The girl, who was a student of class 7, was found set ablaze in the backyard of her house on January 28, after being doused in petrol. The girl’s father had registered a case with the Rajam police, naming a boy from class 8 from the girl’s school as a suspect.

According to Palakonda DySP Raraju Prasad, in her dying declaration recorded a few days earlier, the girl had said that two boys had set her on fire and that she was unable to identify them. The case then garnered attention on social media, and a voice recording purportedly of the girl and her father surfaced, where the girl named the same senior from her school. 

However, police say that the boy could not have been involved, based on their investigation and evidence collected. 

Based on statements from the school teachers, and various students, police have said that on January 28, the day the incident occurred, the girl had gifted the boy a watch. The boy then complained to his class teacher, who reported the matter to the headmistress. “The teacher and headmistress spoke to the girl and counselled her. They then called her mother and asked to take the girl home. As she would have been emotionally vulnerable, they felt she should not be left alone,” Raraju Prasad said. 

According to the police, the girl was sent home with her mother around 3 pm. The girl’s mother, who worked as help for a few people employed at a petrol bunk, then left for work. Around 5 pm, the girl was found set on fire. 

Police have said that according to the boy's version of events, and the statements of several others from the school, the girl allegedly liked the boy, while the boy did not show interest in her.

In her statement recorded before a magistrate, the girl has said that two people came to her house and set her on fire. 

However, the controversy became murkier as an audio surfaced online, purportedly of the girl, who was then undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Vizag, saying, “I gave him (the class 8 boy) a watch. The headmistress found out. He came home and poured petrol on me, saying his reputation was tarnished. There were two people, I don’t know the other person’s name," the voice says.

Meanwhile, the police say that they have conducted investigations with nearly 30 people from the school, and another 30 people from the street where the girl’s family lives. 

“Based on these statements, it’s more likely that the girl had tried to take her own life. The petrol was likely to have been found at her home, as her mother works for people associated with a petrol bunk,” Raraju Prasad said. 

He further added that CCTV footage from around 4.45 pm on that day placed the boy at a location nearly 15 minutes away from her house, which gives him an alibi. “He can be seen passing in front of a temple within a 5-minute window of when the girl was set on fire,” he said.   

The girl’s father has alleged that the family of the accused boy have influenced the police by strategically providing information that paints facts differently, by suggesting that girl had earlier given chocolates to the boy and had appeared interested in him. 

Police, however, appear convinced that the boy is innocent and that the incident is likely to have been an attempt of suicide. 

Both the girl and the boy belong to Scheduled Caste communities. 

Police had earlier registered a case under IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) and section 306 (abetment of suicide), based on the girl’s father’s complaint.