Man sentenced to life in prison for setting woman lecturer ablaze in Maharashtra's Wardha

A court in Maharashtra's Wardha district on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment a man accused of stalking and setting a 25-year-old woman lecturer on fire in Hinganghat two years ago.

The district additional sessions court found Vikesh Nagrale guilty of the offence under section 302 (murder) of the IPC for setting the victim Ankita Pisudde ablaze on the streets of Hinganghat, and pronounced the quantum of punishment.

The judge sentenced the accused to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him.

As per the case details, the incident took place on February 3, 2020, when the accused poured petrol on the victim Ankita Pisudde, a lecturer of Botany at a local college, when she reached Hinganghat by bus, and set her ablaze.

The victim suffered 40 per cent burns in the attack and succumbed to her injuries after a week-long battle at a hospital in Nagpur.

The incident sent shock waves across that state.

At least 29 witnesses were examined during the course of the trial.

The then investigating officer in the case, who was sub-divisional police officer of Pulgaon, Trupti Jadhav filed a chargesheet in record 26 days.

Jadhav, who is now the assistant commissioner of police Nagpur, said she was satisfied with the court’s verdict.

“We worked hard on the case. Since it was a sensitive case and there was a lot of responsibility. People were angered by the incident. We had to file a strong chargesheet to ensure that the accused was convicted,” she said.

Advocate Ujjwal Nikam was appointed by the Maharashtra government to fight the case.

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