Girl set afire by 23-yr-old cousin for refusing to marry him

Rajasekar (23), an employee of the paddy procurement centre, wanted to marry his aunt's daughter. However, his aunt told him her daughter was too young to get married as she was doing her plus-two course.

Rajasekhar had reportedly pestered the girl several times but she insisted that she could not marry till she completed her studies, police said.

Last evening, he went to her house at Nemmeli village near here and again asked her to marry him. When she refused,he allegedly opened a bottle of petrol and poured it on her face and then set her ablaze, police said.

As the girl screamed, he got scared and immediately put a thick blanket on her and doused the fire. He then got here admitted to the local hospital before fleeing, police added.

Doctors said the girl is stable "but the condition of the face is bad."