The National Commission for Women on Monday said it has written to the Jharkhand Police chief, calling for a fair investigation into the death of a woman who was set ablaze by a man for not reciprocating his overtures.
The NCW also sought an action taken report from the police within seven days.
The incident took place in Dumka district on August 23. The accused, identified as Shahrukh, allegedly poured petrol on the woman, aged 19 and a student of Class 12, from outside the window of her room when she was sleeping and set her on fire, according to police.
The woman, who was undergoing treatment at Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS), died in the early hours of Sunday.
"The National Commission for Women has come across media reports wherein a woman was set on fire in Jharkhand's Dumka after she rejected the accused's proposal... The Commission is anguished with the reported crime and has taken cognisance of the matter. Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to Director General of Police, Jharkhand to look into the matter and to ensure that a fair investigation is accomplished (conducted) in a time-bound manner," the apex women's rights body said in a statement.
A copy of the letter has also been sent to the superintendent of police of Dumka. Action taken must be communicated to the commission within seven days, it said.
The accused in the case has already been arrested.
Women not safe in Jharkhand under JMM rule: BJP
The BJP has claimed that women are now “not safe” in Jharkhand and asked why Chief Minister Hemant Soren has remained silent over the incident.
BJP leaders, including former Jharkhand chief ministers Raghubar Das and Babulal Marandi, demanded that the accused be punished through trial in a fast-track court.
However, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) accused the BJP leaders of trying to do “communal politics” over the incident and said the state government also wants stringent punishment in it.
Mr. Das, who is also the BJP national vice president, said, “A woman was burnt to death but the chief minister is maintaining silence. Isn’t it a politics of appeasement? We have seen Nadeem (Ansari), an accused in the Ranchi violence, was sent to Delhi in an air ambulance for better treatment at the government cost, while the 19-year-old woman with burn injuries was not looked after properly.”
Mr. Das demanded that the government must extend a compensation of ₹1 crore and a job to the next of kin of the woman who succumbed to her burn injuries at a hospital.
