Tension lingers in Puri village after 15-year-old burn victim’s death amid conflicting claims

An uneasy calm prevailed in Bayabar village in Odisha's Puri district on Sunday, with most of the villagers staying indoors, a day after the 15-year-old girl succumbed to her burn injuries at AIIMS Delhi.

Police personnel are standing guard near the deceased girl's house under the Balanaga police station limit, as most of the family members of the girl have probably left for Delhi, where the postmortem examination of the body will be carried out.

The girl's mother and her aunt, who were present at the house in Nuagopalpur bustee, were also missing since Saturday, a neighbour said, adding that everybody in the area is speechless over the death of the teenager.


Some people of the community were seen digging a pit near the village, and it is expected that the girl's body would be put to rest there as part of the traditional burial in the community.

"We are keeping a watch on the village and the movement of the people. Everything is cool and peaceful. People are not coming out of their houses," a policeman supervising the burial digging told local news channels.

Dukhishyam Senapati, the villager, who first doused fire on the body of the girl, also kept his doors shut and did not speak to anyone, including media persons. He was the man who helped the girl when she cried for help on the morning of July 19.

The girl who was airlifted from AIIMS Bhubaneswar to AIIMS, Delhi, with over 70 per cent burn injury, died on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, the girl's father in a video, said, "I want to say that the government has done whatever possible for my daughter. My daughter is no more. My daughter took her life as she was mentally under pressure. Thus, I request everyone not to politicise the matter and pray for her soul."

Hours after the girl's death, Odisha police claimed that no one is involved in the burning of the girl, even as her mother in her FIR at Balanga police station, had alleged that there was an attempt to kill her daughter. She alleged that three people abducted her and took her to the bank of the Bhargavi river, poured inflammable material and set her on fire.

The police have recorded the statement of the victim three times during the last 15 days. The police claimed that it has undertaken the investigation with all sincerity and found that no one was involved in the incident. However, Odisha police was yet to make it clear how the girl was set on fire. Police have also requested everyone not to make any sensitive comments related to this incident at this sad time.

As preparations are going on at Balanaga area for the last rites of the girl, the police have also tightened security in the state capital and sealed roads near chief minister Mohan Majhi's residence and deployed additional forces near all ministers' residence.