Maharashtra College Teacher, Set On Fire By Stalker, Dies

A 25-year-old college teacher in Maharashtra's Wardha, set on fire last week allegedly by a man who had been stalking for the past two years, died of injuries this morning.

The woman was going to her college in the morning last Monday when the accused, Vicky Nagrale, used petrol from his motorcycle to set her on fire, the police said. She had 40 per cent burns and was critical.

She was being treated at a private hospital in Nagpur, 77 km away.

"The patient was declared dead at 6:55am today. The probable cause of death was septicemic shock. Her body has been handed over to police authorities for post-mortem," Dr Anup Marar, Director, Orange City Hospital and  Research Center, said.

Vikesh Nagrale was arrested within hours of the incident. The teacher's relatives said he had been harassing her for quite some time. "Nagrale is a married man and has a seven-month-old son. He works in a firm in Balharshah. He used to stalk the woman. He had even tried to commit suicide last year," a police official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Heavy security put in place in Wardha's Hinganghat area where the attack took place to avoid any law and order problem following the teachers death, the police officer said. 

Several locals, mostly women and college students, had taken out a march in Wardha last Thursday, demanding death penalty for the accused.

Well-known lawyer Ujjwal Nikam was appointed as the special public prosecutor in the case by the Maharashtra government. Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had visited the woman in hospital last week.

(With inputs from PTI)