Odisha burn victim's condition stable, to be airlifted to Delhi

Bhubaneswar | The health condition of a 15-year-old girl, who was set ablaze by unidentified miscreants in Odisha's Puri district, was stable on Sunday morning, and she will be airlifted to Delhi, officials said.

The incident took place on Saturday morning on the banks of Bhargabi River near Bayabar village in Balanga police station when the girl was returning from her friend's house.

The minor girl, with 70 per cent burns, is stable and she is currently on oxygen support in the ICU and is responding, said Sanjay Giri, Head of Department of Burn Centre, AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

"We are giving fluid treatment to the patient. A team of 12 doctors and two nursing officers are looking after the patient," he said.

"The patient is stable and she is a state where she can be shifted by airlifting. Maybe within two-and-a-half hours, we will shift her. This has been communicated to AIIMS Delhi. She will be taken on a special flight," AIIMS Bhubaneswar Executive Director Asutosh Biswas told reporters.

For better treatment of the girl, AIIMS Bhubaneswar and the Odisha government had started holding discussions with AIIMS Delhi and patients' family members for airlifting her to the national capital, an official said.

"Representatives of the government spoke with higher-level officials and we held discussions with AIIMS Delhi," Giri said.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday said that the state government was planning to airlift the minor to Delhi for better treatment. Majhi, however, said AIIMS Bhubaneswar authorities will take a decision considering her health condition.

As the victim was able to speak on Saturday, the police have recorded her statement in the presence of a magistrate at AIIMS Bhubaneswar ICU, an official said, adding that her statement is vital for the investigation.

Preliminary police investigation revealed that three motorcycle-borne youths intercepted the teenager, forcibly took her to the banks of Bhargavi River, poured an inflammable substance on her, and set her on fire. The miscreants fled the spot after setting the girl on fire, police said.

Local people doused the fire and later took her to Pipili government hospital, from where she was shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

The girl's mother has lodged an FIR with Balanga police station, officials said, adding the victim was a class 8 dropout and her father works at a motor garage.