Hours after Agra schoolgirl dies of burns in Delhi, cousin commits suicide

A cousin of a schoolgirl, who had succumbed to burn injuries early on Thursday after being set afire by two bike-borne men in Agra, allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance on Thursday.

The Class 10 girl was set on fire by two unidentified bike-borne men on Tuesday when she was returning from her school. She sustained 70% burns and was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where she died at about 1.30 am on Thursday.

The name of the deceased cousin has been withheld to protect the schoolgirl’s identity.

According to police, the family of the 25-year-old man said that he had gone to Delhi to meet his cousin and was disturbed after seeing her condition.

He returned to Agra late on Wednesday night and complained of vomiting on Thursday morning. His neighbours admitted him to a hospital where he died in the afternoon.

“I could not interact with him after he returned from Delhi otherwise I would have consoled him. He would not have taken this extreme step then,” his mother said.

The death of the cousin has complicated the girl’s murder as police are still clueless about the culprits who set her afire.

Police did not say much about the suicide but said it was cannot be treated as isolated.

“It is certainly a parallel development that requires investigation. We will closely examine the matter before jumping to any conclusion,” SSP, Agra, Amit Pathak said.

He said there was no police pressure on the girl’s cousin.

“He was never taken into custody by the police. He had gone to Delhi on his own. We were supposed to question people related to the girl and we did so,” he said.

“He was disturbed about his cousin’s health and had gone to Delhi to see her. He had completed BEd and was about to join a job in Agra,” another cousin of the deceased said.