What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Ankita, a 15-year-old Class 12 student, was allegedly burned alive by a spurned lover, Shahrukh, in Dumka district
Staring blankly at the walls of the room in his village house, 46-year-old Sanjeev Singh is a picture of agony. “I feel a void. I am shattered and devastated. My Ankita is gone forever. Hang the man who killed her,” a grief-stricken Singh said, as he tried in vain to stifle his tears.
“My daughter was a very bright student. She loved studying and wanted to be a teacher. She used to earn on her own by giving tuitions to students. She was a good girl who understood my financial situation. She never used to demand anything,” Singh, who works in a private shop, told The New Indian.
Ankita, a 15-year-old Class 12 student, was allegedly burned alive by a spurned lover, Shahrukh, in Dumka district, Jharkhand on August 23. The incident happened at night when the girl was fast asleep. The culprit, who has been arrested, poured petrol on Ankita from outside the window of her room and set her ablaze. She succumbed to her 90 per cent burns in Phulo Jhano Medical College and Hospital in Dumka on August 28.
“Around 10-15 days before the incident, the man (killer) managed to get her number somehow and started pestering her by saying ‘speak to me’. He used to torment her a lot,” Singh said.
The family said it will never be able to come to terms with the irreparable loss. Ankita’s father said, “Only we (the family members) know what we are going through. Our world has collapsed; everything has changed. Protests are going on; political leaders are visiting my house; media is here, but I only want justice for my Ankita.”
Ankita leaves behind her two siblings. Her mother died last year of cancer.
A bevy of political leaders and social activists has been visiting the family, while expressing their condolences to the bereaved family. “The only relief for us is that we are not alone in this fight; the entire society, the whole nation is supporting us,” Singh said.
Chief of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the apex child right’s body, Priyank Kanoongo told The New Indian, “We are going to Dumka on September 4-5. We will look into the entire incident, talk to the officers and will see if POCSO Act is being followed properly or not.”
“This is a shocking incident and we need to understand why such gruesome murders are being committed by youngsters. This aspect also needs to be investigated,” Kanoongo underlined.
