Burnt by stalker, teenaged girl fighting death in hospital

A burnt teen-ager has been fighting for life at a Joypurhat hospital after stalkers set her on fire at Chandipur village in Hakimpur upazila in Dinajpur district on Friday. The victim is Jolly Akter, 18, daughter of Jahir Uddin of Chirla village under Sadar upazila of Joypurhat district. Family, local and hospital sources said Jolly sustained severe burn injuries after stalkers set her on fire in her sleep. She was rushed to Joypurhat Modern Hospital and is undergoing treatment since Friday night. Jolly is an undergraduate student of Mongalbari Degree College of Joypurhat. Her family members claimed that a man used to stalk Jolly on her way to and from the college. One month ago, the stalker proposed Jolly who rejected it outright. The man then threatened to kidnap her prompting her parents to send their daughter to her grandmother’s house at Chandipur, 20 kilometres away from Chirla. The stalker, along with an accomplice, ripped open a whole in the tin roof of the room in which she and her grandmother was sleeping, and poured petrol on Jolly. Though she woke up at the feel of the liquid, it was too late. The culprits fired a matchstick on her setting the teenager ablaze, and ran away, said Sahera Khatun, the grandmother, who too had suffered minor burns. “Some villagers recognised the stalker while he was fleeing the spot,” the grand mother said. Hearing their screams, neighbours rushed in broke into the room and whisked critically injured Jolly to Joypurhat Modern Hospital, according to a news agency.