Maha: Woman lecturer set on fire by stalker dies

The 25-year-old woman lecturer who was set on fire by a stalker in Maharashtra's Wardha district last week died at a hospital in Nagpur on Monday morning, a police official said.

Ankita Pisudde, a resident of Hinganghat town in Wardha, was critical after sustaining 40 per cent burns on February 3 when she was set afire allegedly by one Vikesh Nagrale (27) while she was on the way to her college.

She was undergoing treatment at the Orange City Hospital & Research Centre in Nagpur, located around 840 km from here.

"Doctors at the hospital declared her dead at 6.55 am today," Hinganghat's police inspector Satyaveer Bandiwar said.

Heavy security was deployed in Hinganghat to avoid any law and order problem following her death, he said.

Several locals, mostly women and college students, took out a march in Wardha city last Thursday, demanding death penalty for the accused.

The state government has appointed well-known lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor in the case.

According to the victim's relatives, Nagrale had been harassing her for quite some time. He was arrested within hours of the incident and booked under relevant sections.

Nagrale and the woman were friends till two years ago when she severed ties with him due to his "irrational behaviour", the police earlier said.