A 19-year-old youngster was burnt alive in Madakasira mandal of Anantapur district for allegedly having an affair with a minor girl. The youth identified as Narasimha Murthy of Rekulakunta village in Madakasira mandal and belonging to the Scheduled Castes, was called out of his house by two people at around 11 p.m. on Monday. Even as he was talking to them they doused him with petrol, set him ablaze and fled the place. Relatives and neighbours rushed out on hearing the teenager’s cries and doused the flames. They shifted him to a hospital at Madakasira and later to the Government General Hospital at Hindupur.
According to information from the hospital authorities, the victim had succumbed to the 95 per cent burns he had sustained, in the early hours of Tuesday while undergoing treatment.
The police told The Hindu that the teenager, in his dying declaration, identified one of the accused as Hanumiahgari Narsappa (65). The second accused was not identified. Murthy also told the police that the two persons set him on fire for having an affair with a girl, a class IX student. The girl, hailing from the same village, was reportedly a relative of the victim.
Meanwhile, the Madakasira police registered a case against the accused based on the teenager’s dying declaration under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. A manhunt had been launched for the accused who were absconding.
