Woman set ablaze for chopping wood from tree succumbs to injuries in AJK

Rasheeda first thrashed, then thrown in fire by cousins; accused still at large

MUZAFFARABAD: A woman who was burnt for chopping wood from trees on March 18 succumbed to her wounds in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday.

Rasheeda Begum, the victim, a resident of Nawan village, was set ablaze by her relatives for cutting wood was admitted in the Burn Center Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Kharian.

Rasheeda succumbed to her burn wounds nine days after the incident took place. The victim was set on fire by her cousins for committing the act from her own land.

"Her cousins pushed her into a fire which burnt most of her body in the process," local police said.

Her cousins who committed the act have been identified as Shahid, Ansar and Ahtisham.

According to reports the alleged culprits first thrashed her and then threw her in the fire. A case has been registered in this regard and an investigation is underway.



The accused persons are still at large and the police are on the lookout to find them.

As news of the incident surfaced, residents blocked the Kotli-Rawalpindi road in protest and called for the culprits to be brought to justice.

The protest came to an end after demonstrators were assured that stern action would be taken against the culprits.

Senior Minister Tariq Farooq condemned the incident and termed it unfortunate saying the AJK government has passed the instructions to the local administration to arrest the accused persons.