Girl, 15, set on fire for resisting rape

Three men set a 15-year-old girl on afire for resisting their bid to molest her at Kushaiguda here on Wednesday. The girl, a school drop-out, reportedly went missing from her house at Padmarao Nagar here on March 9 and her parents lodged a missing case with the Chilkalguda police.

According to Kushaiguda police, the accused have been identified as Charan, Anil and Vinay. They used to visit one Venkat at his bachelor accommodation near the girl’s house and befriended the girl over the last three months. On March 9, the trio took the girl to Vijayawada and returned to the city recently and were staying at their room in Kushaiguda. On Wednesday morning, locals alerted the police that a girl was set ablaze in a room. The girl was subsequently rushed to Gandhi Hospital with 63 per cent burns.

The trio is absconding, the Kushaiguda police officials said.