MEERUT: A 21-year-old woman from UP, who was allegedly set on fire by her lover and his family over a relationship dispute on April 25, has succumbed to her 90% burn injuries after battling for life for a week at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, police said on Saturday.According to police, Kashish Meena, a resident of Murti Vihar in Shikarpur, had been in a relationship with Ashish Meena, 24, a daily-wager, from the same village in Bulandshahr’s Ahmedgarh area for three years. Both families were aware of it and had initially agreed to their marriage. But their relationship began to fall apart after Ashish informed her about his decision to get engaged elsewhere.When Kashish confronted him, eyewitnesses said a heated argument ensued during which Ashish’s family members allegedly poured petrol on her. She was taken to CHC Shikarpur and then to district hospital before being shifted to another medical centre due to her critical condition. A doctor, who treated her at the district hospital in Bulandshahr, said that she had suffered from “more than 90% burns”. She was eventually admitted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where she died on Friday night.At Bulandshahr hospital, Kashish gave her statement to police in presence of Shikarpur’s sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Arun Verma. SDM Verma told TOI that the last statement of the woman had been recorded and kept confidential, and it would be presented before the court. Demanding justice for his daughter, Deepak Kumar, a farmer, said that “all the accused should be severely punished”.Meanwhile, SSP (Bulandshahr) Dinesh Kumar Singh suspended local SHO Dharmendra Singh, two sub-inspectors and a constable for “not acting promptly on the case”. “An FIR under BNS sections of murder will be registered against the accused, his brother Vivek Kumar and three others,” SP (rural) Antriksh Jain said on Saturday, adding that “Ashish has been arrested.”
