Juvenile held for setting 17-year-old girl ablaze after quarrel in Thane

A 17-year-old girl suffered critical burn injuries after a juvenile friend allegedly set her ablaze at her home in Thane’s Balkum area following a quarrel. The accused has been detained and sent to a remand home; the victim remains critical.

Thane: A 17-year-old girl suffered critical burn injuries after a juvenile allegedly set her ablaze at her home in Maharashtra’s Thane city following a quarrel, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred on October 24 in the Balkum area. The victim sustained nearly 80 per cent burns and is currently undergoing treatment in critical condition, they said.

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The 17-year-old accused, a friend of the girl, has been detained and booked on charges of attempt to murder, senior inspector Pravin Mane of Kapurbawdi police station said.

The attack allegedly stemmed from an “earlier quarrel” between the two, the official said.

The juvenile visited the girl’s residence, allegedly poured a flammable substance on her, and set her on fire. Despite the girl raising an alarm, the accused remained at the scene and did not intervene, he said.

The victim’s neighbours noticed smoke emanating from her house and alerted her father, who was away at the time. The man called the accused and instructed him to take the girl to the hospital, according to the police.

The accused then took the girl to the Thane Civil Hospital, from where she was later shifted to KEM Hospital in Mumbai for advanced treatment. Her condition remains critical, the official said.

Following the incident, the accused was detained and produced before a juvenile court, which ordered him to be lodged in a remand home, the police said.

The Kapurbawdi police have registered an FIR against the accused under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 109 (attempt to murder) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation), they added.