Allam Maraiah, the town-based 25-year-old married youth accused of setting a 13-year-old minor Dalit girl on fire for resisting his rape attempt over a fortnight ago, was arrested by the One Town police here on Tuesday.
The girl, who worked as a domestic help in Maraiah’s house at Mustafanagar here, suffered grievous burn injuries in the horrific incident. She was shifted to Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad on Monday night.
The shocking incident came to light more than a fortnight after the horrific crime after a vain bid by the accused, who hails from the same community to which the minor girl belongs, to hush up the matter by resorting to intimidating tactics.
Maraiah was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act and the relevant sections of the IPC. He was arrested on Tuesday and produced in a local court, which remanded him in 14 days’ judicial custody, police said.
Meanwhile, protests against the horrific incident continued across the district on Tuesday with members of mass organisations taking to streets demanding deterrent action against the accused.
The protesters also sought action against the management of the private hospital in the town, where the grievously injured minor girl had undergone treatment for more than 15 days, for allegedly keeping the authorities in the dark about the shocking incident.
