A 30-year-old woman is battling for her life after her alleged rapist set her on fire. The incident took place in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district on Thursday. According to the police, the woman, who suffered 70 per cent burn injuries, was rushed to a Bikaner hospital considering her critical condition. “We have detained the accused — identified as Pradeep Bishnoi. He is currently being interrogated,” said Praful Kumar, Inspector General of Police, Bikaner range.
The woman had lodged a complaint against Bishnoi two years ago, alleging that he raped her. Police registered a case and arrested Bishnoi. He was released from jail after a court granted him bail.
Police retrieved CCTV footage from near the crime scene, showing Bishnoi running away after setting the woman on fire and then fleeing on a bike. The woman, who is separated from her husband, is lives with her maternal grandmother with her son and runs a beauty parlour. The grandmother told police that Pradeep entered the house and locked the room where the child was sleeping and shouted to call the woman he raped two years ago. When the victim came out of her room, he poured kerosene on her and set her on fire, the grandmother said.
Police identified him through CCTV footage and nabbed him. “The case is being closely investigated from every angle,” said IGP Kumar. Cops are also investigating the woman’s complaint.
Earlier, a man out on bail in a 2018 sexual assault case shot dead the survivor’s father in Hathras District in Uttar Pradesh on March 1, 2021. According to reports, the Hathras Police said an argument broke out between the survivor’s family and the accused. During the argument, the accused and his accomplices shot the father. He died en route to the hospital.
The daughter of the deceased has filed an FIR against the accused. The young woman alleged she and her mother were carrying lunch for the father when Gaurav, Lalit, Rohitash and Nikhil reached the spot and asked the father to settle the matter and take back the case filed in 2018. Reportedly, before the father could respond, the accused shot him.
In 2018, the woman’s father had filed a molestation case against Gaurav. Police took him into custody and released him on bail after a month.
