BHUBANESWAR: A 15-year-old girl from Puri district with 75 per cent burn injuries, who was airlifted and admitted to AIIMS New Delhi, died on Saturday. The girl initially alleged she was set on fire by three bike-borne men who poured kerosene on her two weeks ago on July 19. However, police said she set herself ablaze.Police said the girl has made a statement regarding the same before a magistrate, which was video-graphed. Stating the police conducted the investigation with utmost sincerity, Odisha Police, in a post on X, said, “The investigation has reached its final stage. According to the investigation conducted so far, it is clear that no other person is involved.”
Police sources said the girl didn’t name anyone to blame for her extreme step. In AIIMS Delhi, the girl was admitted to the Burn ICU in the Burns and Plastic Surgery block of the hospital on July 20. She underwent two surgeries for the management of her deep burns. The patient was critical and on oxygen support from the first day of her admission.
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Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi shared the news of the girl’s death on X. “I am deeply shocked to hear the news of the death of the victim girl. Despite all the efforts of the govt and the round-the-clock endeavours of the specialist medical team at AIIMS Delhi, her life could not be saved. I pray for the eternal peace of the girl’s soul and beseech God to grant strength to her family to bear this irreparable loss,” Majhi shared on X.Later, deputy chief ministers KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, several ministers, leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik, and many MLAs condoled the girl’s death. The young girl, a Class IX dropout, was walking to a relative’s house on the village outskirts, 1 km away from her home, when the horrific incident occurred around 8.30 am on July 19.The girl on fire ran towards a house and asked for help. The family members of the house doused her flames and gave her new clothes to wear. Later, police and family members of the girl took her to AIIMS Bhubaneswar. The girl was in ICU with oxygen support but not on a ventilator. The patient was conscious and speaking. A 14-member committee was looking after the treatment of the girl in AIIMS Bhubaneswar.To provide further treatment, the state govt decided to airlift the girl to AIIMS Delhi. On July 20, the girl was taken in a life support ambulance from AIIMS Bhubaneswar to Biju Patnaik International Airport through a green corridor and later airlifted to New Delhi.My daughter ended her own life due to depression: Father“My daughter ended her own life due to depression. Her death should not be politicised. We don’t blame anyone for her death,” her father told reporters outside AIIMS Delhi on Sunday. He released a video message on Saturday night, claiming his daughter had resorted to self-immolation.
