NHRC notice to Bihar govt over woman being set afire in Muzaffarpur for resisting rape bid

The NHRC issued a notice to the Bihar government and the state's police chief on Monday over a woman being set on fire by a person after he allegedly tried to outrage her modesty, officials said.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it would also like to know about the status of the investigation in the case and the treatment given to the woman, who is reportedly in a "state of coma" at the SKMCH Hospital in Muzaffarpur.

The 23-year-old woman was set on fire allegedly by a neighbour on Saturday at her home in Muzaffarpur after she resisted his attempt to rape her, local police said.

The victim has suffered "85 per cent burn injuries" and her condition is said to be "critical", the rights panel said, quoting media reports.

The commission has issued notices to the state's chief secretary and the director general of police, seeking a detailed report on it in four weeks, it added.

The victim's family had reportedly approached the police "five times" for registering an FIR "but no action was taken", the NHRC statement said.

The report must include whether any departmental action was taken against any police officials and whether any relief has been granted to the victim or her family, it said.

"The accused, as mentioned in the news report, was harassing the victim for the last three years for which the family of the woman had approached the Ahiyapur police station five times to get an FIR registered but no FIR was registered by the police. Now, reportedly, the police is making efforts to arrest him," the statement said.