Rampyari Bai, the 45-year-old tribal woman who was allegedly set ablaze and the act filmed by a group of villagers over a land dispute in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna on July 2, succumbed to her burns on Friday.
Rampyari Bai, who belonged to the Sahariya tribe that has been categorised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), had suffered 80% burns. After her husband raised an alarm following the incident, she was first taken to the district hospital and from there referred to Bhopal, where she died during treatment.
The police confirmed the death and added that the accused will now be charged with Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Earlier, Rampyari’s husband Arjun Sahariya had told the police that he had seen six fellow villagers — brothers Pratap and Hanumant Dhakad, their three other family members, and one family friend, Maharaj Pandit — set Rampyari Bai ablaze after pouring diesel on her. The police had initially registered a case of attempt to murder and added relevant provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
