Who was Ankita Singh?
Ankita was a student at a girls’ school and she aspired to become a police officer. Having lost her mother to cancer in her childhood, Ankita’s family faced a financial crunch as they were compelled to sell their land and property to avail of her mother’s treatment.
What did Ankita tell the police?
According to the statement given to an executive magistrate, Ankita had said that the accused called her on her mobile around 10 days back pestering her to become his friend.
“He called me again around 8 pm on Monday and told me that he would kill me if I did not talk to him. I informed my father about the threat after which he assured me that he would talk to the man’s family on Tuesday. After having our dinner, we went to sleep. I was sleeping in another room.”
“On Tuesday morning, I experienced a sensation of pain on my back and could smell something burning. I found him running away when I opened my eyes. I started screaming in pain and went to my father’s room. My parents doused the fire and took me to the hospital,” Ankita had spoken with great difficulty while the police recorded her statement.
Was Ankita a minor or above 18 years?
The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Jharkhand’s Dumka district said the class 12 student who died after being set on fire by a man was a minor, and demanded action under the POCSO Act. The committee said she was around 16 years old as per the class 10 board examination marksheet and not a major as claimed by the police.
“We recommend that sections of the POCSO Act be added to the FIR as the girl was a minor as per our probe,” Dumka CWC chairperson Amarendra Kumar told PTI. A four-member CWC team led by Kumar met the victim’s family on Monday and procured her marksheet.
“According to her marksheet, she was born on November 26, 2006 she was a minor. So, sections under the POCSO Act are applicable in this case,” he added. Earlier, Dumka Police had claimed that the deceased had mentioned that she was 19 years old in the statement given before the magistrate.
Justice for Ankita
Tension and anger persisted in Jharkhand’s Dumka over the brutal killing of Ankita. Hundreds of people took to the streets and Dumka came to a standstill.
The Dumka-Bhagalpur road was blocked for three hours on Sunday.
There was tension in the city on the second day as well. In view of this, the administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in the entire city. Deputy Commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla has said that a request will be made for a hearing in the fast-track court to get justice for the victim. (PTI)
