Ankita Kumari, who was being treated at a hospital in Jharkhand after a neighbour named Shahrukh Hussain poured petrol on her and set fire to her four days ago, died on Sunday in hospital. Swarajya journalist Swati Goyal Sharma shared this information in a tweet. The girl’s father Sanjeev Singh informed Sharma that Ankita breathed her last at 2.30 am. She was admitted to Ranchi RIMS for treatment.
Jharkhand girl Ankita, who was poured with petrol and set on fire by neighbour-stalker Shahrukh Hussain, died last night. Her father Sanjeev Singh told me she breathed her last at 2.30 am. Till last evening, she was asking every visitor to tell her honestly if she would survive pic.twitter.com/ppFTGEHIAU
— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) August 28, 2022
Because of one-sided love, Shahrukh Hussain had torched Ankita alive by pouring petrol on her. The only mistake of Ankita Kumari, a student studying in class 12, was that she did not want to talk to Shahrukh, after which the man torched her.
The horrific attack on Ankita happened on Tuesday (August 23) morning in Dhumka in Jharkhand. Ankita had told the police in a critical state that her neighbour, Shahrukh, used to harass her every day. He used to approach her and seek her friendship. He had also obtained her phone number and used to call her repeatedly, asking her for friendship. When Ankita chastised him for not stopping, he threatened to kill her.
Ankita informed her father of this on Monday. When she woke up the next morning, her body was in flames as she ran up to family members who attempted to extinguish the fire. Her family then hurried her to the hospital. It was found in the hospital that Ankita had suffered severe burns. It turned out that Shahrukh went to Ankita’s house on Tuesday morning, poured petrol on Ankita through a window when she was asleep in her bed and torched her, and then fled from the scene.
In the hospital, Ankita named Shahrukh as the culprit. After taking Ankita and her family members’ statements, police arrested Shahrukh the same day. She was initially taken to Phoolo Jhano Medical College Hospital in Dhumka, and was later shifted to RIMS in Ranchi as she was in critical condition.
Ankita’s family members hoped she would survive. However, due to severe burns which were reportedly around 90%, she was unable to recuperate and died around 2:30 AM on Sunday. Photos show that her hands, legs and fare were badly burnt.
The incident sparked uproar throughout the Dumka district. Hindu organisations have called for protest marches and bandhs, and many are demanding that Shahrukh be hanged after a fast trial in court.
