Panipat: A youth allegedly threw petrol on a 14-year-old girl and set her on fire while she was cooking food at her house near the Pasina village turn in the city yesterday. The victim sustained 50 per cent burns and is under treatment at a private hospital where her condition is stated to be critical.

Panipat: A youth allegedly threw petrol on a 14-year-old girl and set her on fire while she was cooking food at her house near the Pasina village turn in the city yesterday. The victim sustained 50 per cent burns and is under treatment at a private hospital where her condition is stated to be critical.

The accused, Gaurav (23), was arrested under Section 307 of the IPC and Section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act-2012 and produced in court today. The court sent him to judicial custody.

Inspector Sandeep Singh, SHO, Chandni Bagh police station, said, “In her statement before the magistrate, the girl alleged that she was cooking rice at her home when Gaurav, alias Pappu, threw some liquid on her. As she turned around, he set her afire. She also alleged that the youth was harassing her for the last two months.”

The victim’s mother, Kalawati, said, they had complained about the youth’s misbehaviour to the owner of the factory where he was working. “Two days before, my husband Rajender had slapped him for harassing our daughter,” she said. Kalawati said she and her husband were sitting outside their house when they heard their daughter’s shrieks. They went inside only to find her burning.

The victim was admitted to the general hospital from where she was referred to Bhagat Phool Singh Medical College for Women, Khanpur. But her parents took her to a private hospital in the city.

Meanwhile, BK Goel, member, Haryana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (HSCPCR), has deputed the child protection officer here to meet and help the victim’s family. Goel said the girl would be shifted to either the PGIMS in Rohtak or the Khanpur medical college where she would be provided treatment free of cost. The DLSA would provide her with legal aid, he added.