The Mumbai police booked a 30-year-old man Monday, charging him with attempt to murder for allegedly pouring petrol on a 17-year-old girl and setting her on fire after her mother warned him against meeting her.
The girl is fighting for her life at Dr R N Cooper Municipal General Hospital after sustaining 60 per cent burn injuries on her face, neck, back, stomach, private areas, both hands, and legs. She can barely speak as per her mother’s statement in the First Information Report (FIR). The accused, Jitendra Chandrakant Tambe alias Jitu, also suffered burns on his hands, back, and private areas, and is receiving treatment at the same hospital.
The girl lives in the Marol area of Andheri (East) with her three siblings and parents—father a driver, mother a tailor. According to her mother’s statement to the police, the girl had known the accused, who lives in the same neighborhood, for the past year and a half. Approximately six months ago, after a neighbour informed the girl’s mother about her daughter being seen with Jitu in the area, she confronted Jitu and cautioned him against meeting her daughter.
Late Sunday night, the girl’s mother received a call from a local resident informing her that someone had attacked her daughter. She rushed to the location and found the girl partially burnt. With the help of the police, the mother rushed the girl to the hospital.
“We have registered a case under sections 124(1) [causing grievous hurt by using acid or other means] and 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the accused and posted a guard outside his ward at the hospital,” said a senior police officer.
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