Although the incident took place on September 18, it did not come to light until Monday after local police learned that a minor had been assaulted and was being treated in a private hospital. The girl, who has received 70% burns, spent more than 20 days in the hospital without registering an FIR.
“When the girl resisted the man, he got angry, poured gasoline on her and set her on fire,” Khammam Police Commissioner Tafseer Iqubal told TOI.
“Later, she was transferred to a private hospital. We are investigating who took her to the hospital. As far as we know, the defendant himself took her there. We have registered a suo motu case. The accused has been arrested and charged with attempted rape and attempted murder ”.
Surprisingly, no one had informed the girl’s family about the gruesome incident during all this time.
Just on Monday police informed the parents that the girl was fighting for her life after being attacked. Iqubal has written to the district collector to transfer the victim to another hospital for better treatment.
The authorities are also investigating why the administration of the private hospital did not inform the police about the incident immediately after the girl entered there despite knowing that it was a medical-legal case.
In his defense, hospital managers told police that they had the impression that it was a case of an accidentally burned survivor.
“This is unacceptable as hospitals have to inform the police even if it is an accident,” an investigator told TOI.
Officials added that the district judge arrived at the hospital and recorded the girls’ death declarations.
All senior police officers, including Iqubal, visited the girl at the hospital and spoke with her. Her condition is said to be stable, but the burns are extensive.
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