College girl dies after setting herself on fire

Berhampur: A 20-year-old college girl, who allegedly set herself on fire because of torture by her father and stepmother, died during treatment at a hospital in Ganjam district on Tuesday, police said. Rani Pradhan, a final year undergraduate student from Kukudakhandi village in Berhampur Sadar police station area, set herself on fire by pouring petrol near Panchayat Samiti office on Monday. SP Saravana Vivek M said she suffered 90 per cent burn injuries and was undergoing treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital where she died.Initial inquiry has revealed that she took the extreme step as her father and stepmother allegedly tortured her, police said.

Her mother died when she was just three years old, following which her father married another woman and they have a son. “We have detained her father for interrogation. The exact cause will be known only after the interrogation of her father and other relatives,” said the SP.

A case of unnatural death was registered, police said.