A 17-year-old girl was set ablaze by a man in Kerala’s Kakkanad in Ernakulam district, allegedly for refusing to marry him, according to reports. This is the fourth such incident of stalker resorting to violence, which the state has witnessed this year.
The incident took place in the early hours of Thursday. The stalker has been identified as Mithun. Both he and the girl died in the incident.
"Mithun came on a two-wheeler. He barged into the house, poured petrol over [the teen] and set her on fire. Hearing her cries, the neighbours rushed to the house, but by then she had died. They immediately informed the police," local councillor Smitha Sunny told Asianet.
According to reports from eyewitnesses, Mithun had already poured petrol on himself before breaking into the house and setting the teen and himself on fire.
The local councillor said Mithun was a distant relative of the girl’s mother.
On seeing his daughter on fire, her father rushed to rescue her and suffered burn injuries himself. The girl’s mother, who witnessed the incident unfolding before her, fell unconscious and was rushed to a private hospital, reports say.
The bodies of the girl and Mithun have been taken to a hospital in Ernakulam.
According to reports, Mithun was stalking the girl since she was in class 8, and had expressed his love for her. However, she turned down his requests. Mithun even had an argument with the girl’s mother recently.
Two days ago, the mother had reportedly filed a complaint with the Kakkanad police against Mithun. However, Mithun was called to the police station and the two parties compromised the matter between themselves.
In March this year, Kavitha Vijaykumar was set on fire by her stalker, 18-year-old Ajin Reji, in broad daylight, in Pathanamthitta district. Kavitha succumbed to her injuries and died a week later. She was on her way to college when the incident took place.
In April, Neethu, a 22-year-old engineering student from Thrissur, was stabbed 12 times and set ablaze by her stalker, 27-year-old Nidheesh. He broke into the victim’s house, carrying petrol and a knife to kill her. Neethu died on the spot.
In June, Soumya Pushpakaran, a Civil Police Officer (COP) of Vallikunnam police station in Alappuzha, was stabbed and set on fire by a fellow police officer, in broad daylight. She was attacked when she was returning home from duty.
In all these incidents, the women had rejected the marriage proposal and romantic advances from the stalkers, who disregarded their consent and chose to resort to violence.
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