The condition of the girl, who was allegedly set ablaze by a jilted youth in Chittoor district, continued to remain critical today even as the “attacker” was arrested and sent to judicial remand.
The girl, who suffered 65 per cent burns in the incident, has been shifted to a hospital in Tirupati from Chittoor and her condition remains critical, police said.
The accused Mani Kanta, an auto-rickshaw driver who allegedly doused the girl with kerosene near her house in Chittoor town yesterday for reportedly refusing his proposal, was arrested late last night and sent to 15 days judicial remand.
The first-year Intermediate girl’s parents had engaged Mani Kanta, to take her to college, but the youth reportedly harassed her to marry him, after which they changed the auto-rickshaw driver, sources said.
Following a complaint by the girl’s parents, the Chittoor I Town police had registered a case under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) against Mani Kanta.