Teenager who was set ablaze for refusing to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ dies

A 17-year-old boy, whose family had alleged he was set ablaze by some people when he refused to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' in Chandauli on 28 July, succumbed to his injuries, on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Sunday night and the boy was admitted to Kabir Chaura hospital in Varanasi. The boy had 60 per cent burns and was admitted in critical conditions.

The teenager was set on fire when he refused to chant "Jai Shri Ram". He gave this statement on the hospital's camera.

"I was walking on Dudhari bridge when four men kidnapped me. Two of them tied my hand and third one started pouring kerosene. After which they set me on fire and ran away," he said.

However, the police was treating this whole case as suspicious.

SP Chandauli had said, He's admitted in a hospital with 45% burns. He had given different statements to different people, so it seemed suspicious. It seemed he had been tutored. Police monitored CCTV footage of places he had mentioned and found that he had not been at any of those places.

A senior police official in Varanasi said that he was not aware of the incident.

with IANS inputs