A 36-year-old man succumbed to his burn injuries late on Monday, almost three days after he and a widow were allegedly set on fire by the woman’s relatives. The woman continues to be critical.
Kailash Chand Gurjar, 36, a resident of Bichoon under Mokhampura police station limits in Jaipur Rural, succumbed to his injuries late on Monday, while undergoing treatment at the burns ward of SMS Hospital. Dr R K Jain, senior professor at the hospital’s department of burn and plastic surgery, had earlier said Gurjar had received 70 per cent burns while the woman sustained 45 per cent burns.
In his statement to the police, Gurjar had said that he was sleeping in a hut built in the fields “to guard the crop in our field. I was awake to water the crop and guard from the animals and was lying on the cot.”
He said that at midnight, around 12.00-12.30 am on November 29, a woman from their village came to his hut. Gurjar said that he and the woman had been in a relationship, but some time ago, there was a feud between the two families so he had stopped meeting her. However, last night, she suddenly came into the hut to be with him.
Gurjar said after some time, two members of the woman’s family — Birdichand and Ganesh — arrived, and “as soon as they arrived, they drenched us with petrol and set us ablaze, severely burning both of us. I ran out of the hut screaming and rushed to a water tub, where I doused the fire. By that time my family members also arrived and helped me.” The woman, meanwhile, stayed near the hut.
In his police statement, Gurjar said that he was first taken to Bichoon hospital from where he was referred to Jaipur. Local police said that both the man and the woman hailed from the same caste.
Both Birdichand and Ganesh were arrested for the alleged act. The initial FIR was lodged under BNS sections for attempt to murder, voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, and criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention.
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Mokhampura SHO Suresh Kumar Gurjar said Gurjar was married and had children while the woman is a widow.
