Puri Teen Set Afire Ran With Hands Tied, Mouth Gagged, Witness Tells NDTV

The 15-year-old girl set on fire in Odisha's Puri yesterday was running on the road as the flames burned her skin away. Her hands were tied and her mouth gagged as she ran through a neighbourhood, her eyes screaming for help. 

Dukhishyam Senapati, an eyewitness who helped douse the flames and contacted the girl's family, recounted the horrifying sight he witnessed in an interview with NDTV. "The girl was on fire when she came running towards my house. Her hands were tied and she had suffered serious burns. My wife, daughter and I doused the flames and gave her new clothes. Then, I spoke to her. She told me she lived in a nearby village." 

Asked if he had heard any screams before he spotted the girl, he said the criminals had tied up the girl's hands and gagged her mouth. "We heard nothing. She was gagged, and her hands were tied. She told me that three men on two bikes forcibly brought her here, poured kerosene and set her on fire," he said. 

According to the preliminary investigation, three men on a bike waylaid the girl, forcibly took her to a riverbank and then set her on fire. The girl somehow managed to escape the clutches of the criminals and started running; she was still on fire. The criminals fled the spot and are on the run. The girl has suffered 70 per cent burns and was airlifted to AIIMS Delhi for treatment.

Mr Senapati said the girl was in a lot of pain and could only tell him that three men had set her on fire. "I also went and looked around for the attackers, but they had fled. I then contacted the girl's family and called the police. We then took her to the nearby community health centre from where she was shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar," he said. 

The shocking incident in Puri follows the self-immolation of a college student in Odisha's Balasore district to protest sexual assault by a faculty member and inaction by the college authorities. The Balasore student died of her severe burn injuries.

The Puri teen was airlifted to AIIMS Delhi for better treatment today. Deputy Commissioner of Police Jagmohan Meena told the media that a green corridor was emptied to take the patient from AIIMS Bhubaneswar to the Biju Patnaik International Airport. The ambulance covered the 11 km distance within 12 minutes and an air ambulance flew her to the national capital. "The patient's condition is stable, and her blood pressure, which was low yesterday, has improved. It's safe to transfer her," AIIMS Bhubaneswar Executive Director Ashutosh Biswas told reporters before her departure.

The girl can speak now and police have recorded her statement and stepped up their investigation. Her mother has registered a complaint, in which she has said the teen had dropped out of school and her father is a motor mechanic.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi has said he is "deeply saddened" by the Puri incident and that he would pray to Lord Jagannath for the girl's speedy recovery.

The Opposition BJD has launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led state government. Former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has said this incident has taken place within a week of the Balasore tragedy.

"Such unthinkable incidents against women are now being reported almost daily across Odisha. These are not stray cases of violence. These incidents occurring with shocking regularity point to a deep systemic failure of governance. It shows that criminals have become emboldened under the present government and are not worried about being punished. It shows how Odisha is becoming highly unsafe for women due to government inaction and political patronage," he said.

"Will the Odisha Govt wake up from this deep slumber and take speedy action so that the criminals are arrested? And more importantly will the government respond so that such incidents are not repeated? The girls and women of Odisha await a response," Mr Patnaik added.

Inputs by Dev Kumar Ghosh