Jharkhand CM Soren calls Dumka incident 'heart wrenching', assures strictest punishment

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday called the Dumka incident where a Class 12 student was allegedly set on fire by a man "heart wrenching". He said that the accused, who has been arrested, should get the "strictest of punishment" at the earliest.

"A lot of evil acts are being seen in society. This incident is heart-wrenching and the law is taking its course. The accused has been arrested. It is our effort to see that he is punished at the earliest," Soren said.

Soren stated that the people involved in these types of crimes should not be forgiven and should get the strictest punishment. "Laws should be brought in to further strengthen the existing laws for such incidents," the Chief Minister said.

The Jharkhand Chief Minister has also announced an ex-gratia financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the victim.

The incident happened in Jharkhand's Dumka town. Arrested accused Shahrukh allegedly poured petrol on the victim from outside the window of her room and set her on fire while she was sleeping. The horrific act occurred over an unreciprocated proposal.

The 19-year-old was first admitted to Phulo Jhano Medical College and Hospital with 90 percent burn injuries and later referred to Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). She succumbed to her burn injuries in the early hours of Sunday.

Women not safe in Jharkhand under JMM rule: BJP

Reacting to the incident, Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that women are "not safe" in the JMM-Congress-ruled Jharkhand. The BJP leaders, including former Jharkhand Chief Ministers Babulal Marandi and Raghubar Das, demanded that the person involved in the heinous crime be punished through trial in a fast-track court.   

"Dumka's heinous incident proves that women are not safe under the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand. In the past 32 months, more than 5,000 cases of rape registered in the state," alleged BJP state president Deepak Prakash.