Nitu Dwivedi, who was allegedly set on fire by 2 policemen in Barabanki, died this morning
At a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, a woman with severe burn injuries screamed in agony as she told reporters that she had been set on fire by two policemen. Nitu Dwivedi, the mother of a journalist, died this morning. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has ordered an investigation into her allegations against the police.
"No one helped me...They all watched. These people used to harass me often. They did it four times. The fifth time, they poured petrol over me and did this," she told a magistrate and reporters.
She alleged that she had been abused, humiliated and then set on fire when she refused to pay a bribe of Rs. 1 lakh to free her husband, who had been picked up on Saturday night for questioning in case of a firing in a village in Barabanki.
The policemen, who have been suspended, claim she had tried to immolate herself. According to them, when she came for her husband Ram Narain, the police station in-charge, Ram Saheb Singh Yadav, and sub-inspector Akhilesh Rai, chased her away. In a fit of rage, they alleged, she set herself on fire at the gates of the police station.
The woman's husband has questioned that version. "The police took me away and said a murder case had been lodged against me. They told my wife to get money and pick me up. I don't know how much they wanted. I was sitting outside when she ran out, engulfed in fire. I and some others tried to save her. These people must have set her on fire. Who else could have done it?" Mr Narain said.
The woman's son works with a Hindi daily. Anticipating trouble over the incident, the police have posted additional personnel in the area.
In June, a journalist died in Shahjahanpur after he was allegedly set on fire by policemen. It was alleged that the murder was ordered by a state minister who was upset about the reporter's exposes on him. A forensic examination, however, said later concluded that the burn was self-inflicted.