A man accused of throwing acid at a woman and attempting to burn her using petrol in the Neknur area of the Beed district in the Indian state of Maharashtra has been arrested, according to the state's home minister.
"The accused has been arrested. Directions have been given that the matter be tried in a fast-track court so that the guilty be given [the] strictest of punishments. I am personally looking into the matter", Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said.
Indian news channel, NDTV, reported quoting police, that the incident had taken place on 13 November. After the incident, the woman was admitted to a hospital. She, however, succumbed to her injuries.
Indian media outlets also reported that a first information report (FIR) under the Indian Penal Code had earlier been registered and a team to probe the matter had been deployed.
According to the police, the incident took place on late Friday night, when 25-year-old Avinash R. Rajure and 22-year-old Savitra D. Ankulkar were riding on a two-wheeler from Pune.
"They were going to their home in the Shelgaon village in Nanded, district, for Diwali celebrations. En-route on the 450-kms journey, around 2 a.m. on Saturday, the accused Rajure stopped his vehicle at a desolate spot on the Yellamb Ghat region and attacked the victim", Laxman Kendre, a police official at the Neknur Police Station, told Indian news agency IANS.
The official further told the Indian media that the accused first attempted to strangle the victim but she fought back. He then reportedly attacked her with acid. After that he used petrol in the bike to immolate the victim before pushing her into a ditch.
Police said the girl's muffled whimpers were heard by a shephard tending to his flock on Saturday afternoon after which they were informed and took the victim to a nearby government hospital.
"She had sustained 50 percent burn injuries due to the acid and the petrol fire", Kendre told IANS.
The girl breathed her last on Sunday morning. A preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused and victim stayed together in Pune as live-in partners.
