Teen harassed by neighbour sets herself ablaze in TN's Cuddalore district

CUDDALORE: Harassed and blackmailed with false threats by her neighbour, a 15-year-old girl attempted to end her life by setting herself ablaze at a village near Vriddhachalam in Cuddalore district on Wednesday.
The Class X girl sustained 70% burn injuries and her condition is critical. Police arrested her neighbour, a married man, on charges of sexually harassing the teenager.
Police said the 27-year-old man had been stalking the girl for the past few weeks.A neighbour in whom the girl ad confided told police that the man had claimed he had taken videos and photos of the girl without her knowledge. He had threatened her and told her that in return for sexual favours he would not release the videos and photos on the internet.
The girl, who kept turning down his sexual advances could not bear the harassment any longer and when she was alone at home she doused her body with kerosene and set herself ablaze.
Her neighbours on hearing her screams rushed to her house and put out the fire. She was admitted to the Vriddhachalam government hospital that referred her to the Villupuram hospital for further treatment.
The Vridhachallam all-women police station sub inspector A Potta said the man had made false claims of taking videos and photographs and he did not have any smartphone.
“We made inquiries and found that the accused had made a false claim of possessing videos and photos of the minor girl. He uses a mobile phone that does not have such features. Our investigations also revealed that he was not in possession of any other mobile phone that has such features with a different service provider,” said Potta.
The man was booked under Sections 11 (sexual harassment) and 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012 and Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code. Police produced him before a magistrate, who remanded him in judicial custody. If convicted, the man will be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term, which may extend up to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)