“Will I make it out alive? Please save me.” These were the words uttered by the 23-year-old woman who was set ablaze in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, at Safdarjung Hopsital here on Thursday night.
The woman was set afire while on her way to testify against the two men who had allegedly raped her. The two and three others were involved in the attack.
The victim was brought to Safdarjung Hopsital with 90% burn injuries from Lucknow and doctors said she was currently “critical, on the ventilator and fighting for her life.”
Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr. Sunil Gupta said: “She was conscious when she was brought here last night at 8 p.m. and was speaking, though very feebly. She told us repeatedly not to let the accused go free. She asked the doctors if she will make it out alive. She told them, “Save me, I want to live.”
Dr. Gupta said, “She is currently not conscious and on a ventilator. It seems petrol was used to burn her. I went and met her personally and she is in bad shape. She is burnt from head to toe. The entire team is trying its best to save this girl but the prognosis isn’t good,” he said.
Head of Burn and Plastic Surgery at the hospital Dr. Shalab Kumar said, “The condition of the patient is extremely critical and she is on ventilator. Even her vitals are very low.” They have set up a dedicated ICU room for the patient and a team of doctors was constantly monitoring her health condition, he added.
The five accused were arrested within hours and she was airlifted in the evening from the Syama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital in Lucknow to Delhi.
