Ranchi. Local people’s anger has erupted over the incident of 19-year-old Maruti Kumari being burnt alive in Dumka, Jharkhand. As soon as his body reached Dumka from Ranchi on Saturday, hundreds of people came out on the road. People jammed the Dumka-Nonihat main road at the intersection of the dead body. The people protesting kept demanding to hand over the accused Rajesh Raut to the public or to hang him immediately. The accused was arrested by the police on Friday itself, who has been sent to jail after being produced in the court. The people protesting with the dead body of Maruti Kumari are so angry that they called BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, former minister Louis Marandi and MLA Randhir Singh to clear the jam. The request has also been turned down.
MP Nishikant Dubey gave financial help of two lakh rupees to the family of the victim. Meanwhile, when an attempt was made to lift the victim’s body, people clashed with the policemen and attacked the ambulance. Hundreds of vehicles and passengers are stuck in the ongoing jam since 10 o’clock. Many police-administration officers are present on the spot, but the protesting people are not ready to listen to them. Let us inform that in Bharatpur Bhalki village of Jarmundi police station area of Dumka district, a person named Rajesh Raut entered the house of Maruti Kumari and set it on fire by pouring petrol on it. Maruti was in deep sleep at that time. She started screaming as soon as the fire started. In his statement to the police in front of the magistrate, he has said that he saw Rajesh, who set the fire, running.
Rajesh Raut is married, but despite this he was pressurizing Maruti and his family members for marriage. On getting information about the incident, the police arrested Rajesh. Expressing deep grief over this incident, CM Hemant Soren has announced an ex-gratia of ten lakh rupees to the family members. He has said that the government will take all possible action to get the accused punished as soon as possible. Significantly, this is the second such incident in Dumka during one and a half months. Earlier on August 23, 16-year-old Ankita Singh was burnt by two youths in Dumka city itself by pouring petrol, who died a week later during treatment in Ranchi. (IANS)
