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regular-article-logo Sunday, 20 July 2025

Odisha: 16-year-old girl abducted, set on fire in Puri, BJP government under pressure

The girl, a Class VIII dropout, is battling 70 per cent burns at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, which said the next 48 hours were critical

Subhashish Mohanty Published 20.07.25, 06:12 AM
The crime scene at Bayabara village in Puri on Saturday.

The crime scene at Bayabara village in Puri on Saturday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Three young men dragged a 16-year-old girl to a riverbank, tied a handkerchief around her mouth and set her on fire in an Odisha village on Saturday morning.

The girl, a Class VIII dropout, is battling 70 per cent burns at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, which said the next 48 hours were critical.

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Police said they were yet to identify the attackers or ascertain the motive for the crime, which has intensified pressure on the state’s BJP government amid a spate in attacks
on women.

The atrocity happened in Bayabara village in Puri district, part of the Nimapara constituency of deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, whose Bhubaneswar home was pelted with tomatoes by protesting Congress workers.

The girl’s father, who owns a garage and has two daughters, could not suggest any possible motive for the attack.

“I can’t comment unless I talk to my daughter. Let her come out of hospital. We are peace-loving people and have no enmity with anyone,” he said.

The girl’s uncle told The Telegraph: “We have no enemies; I don’t know why she was attacked.”

A week ago, a 20-year-old college student and sexual harassment survivor died in Balasore, having set herself on fire after failing to secure justice.

Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik said Odisha was becoming unsafe for women because of government inaction and political patronage of criminals.

Sources said the girl was walking to a relative’s home, about 500 metres from her own, when the three youths began following her on a motorcycle. They intercepted her at a deserted place near the Bhargavi river.

They dragged her to a nearby spot, tried to gag her with a handkerchief, doused her with an inflammable liquid (possibly kerosene) and set her on fire. She was able to cry out despite the gag, and the attackers fled.

Her clothes on fire, the girl ran to a nearby house, where a 50-year-old woman doused the flames and gave her first aid.

“The girl told me that criminals had lifted her to the riverbank,” the elderly woman later told reporters.

“She cried out in pain (after being set on fire) and the attackers fled. She had burns from the neck to the toes but her face was intact.”

Puri superintendent of police Pinak Mishra said: “We have formed a special team to track down and arrest the culprits.”

The police have recorded the girl’s statement at the hospital. They have seized two bottles of kerosene and a silver ring from the crime spot.

The Biju Janata Dal demonstrated in front of AIIMS, demanding justice for the girl.

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