18-year-old set on fire in Chandauli

VARANASI: An 18-year-old boy was set on fire by unidentified persons in Saiyadraja area of Chandauli district on Sunday. The boy, Abdul Khaliq, is admitted to Varanasi divisional hospital, where doctors said he suffered 45% burns.


In his statement, Abdul has said he was accosted by four men on bikes on Dudhari bridge early in the

morning. They asked him to chant a religious slogan (Jai Shri Ram) and he didn’t. They poured kerosene on him and set him on fire. Father Zulfikar said Abdul came home with severe burns around 5am.

Based on the written complaint of family members, an FIR has been lodged against unidentified persons of Manrajpur village under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the IPC. However, police claim to have found discrepancies in statements of the boy and an eyewitness, a newspaper hawker Dinesh Maurya.

Chandauli SP Santosh Kumar Singh said the boy’s statement did not match with that of Maurya who claimed to have seen him near Kale Khan Baba Mazaar along NH-2.

“Also, the boy is constantly changing his statement. CCTV footage examined by police do not show him in certain places he mentioned,” the official told TOI. “It seems to be an act triggered by some superstition or there may be some conspiracy to spread communal hatred. The matter is being investigated,” he added.