Court Awards Life Imprisonment To Stalker Who Set Lecturer Ablaze In Full Public View Two Yrs Ago

Additional Sessions Judge Rahul Bhagwat of the Hinganghat Sessions Court had pronounced Nagrale guilty on Wednesday. The court, however, had deferred the sentencing by a day to let the prosecution and the accused prepare for arguments on the point of sentence as it involved capital punishment.

Nagrale (now 29) was accused of pouring petrol on Ankita and setting her on fire on February 3, 2020. A part-time Botany lecturer by profession, Ankita was on her way to a local college to conduct a lecture. Nagrale, a married man with a child, allegedly followed Ankita as soon as she alighted from the bus and set her on fire after she allegedly refused his advances, as per the prosecution.

Ankita had suffered grade-III burn injuries on her scalp, face, right upper limb, left hand, upper back, neck and eyes along with severe inhalation injuries, and died of septicaemic shock a week later on February 10, 2020. Her death resulted in locals, including women and college students staging a protest march and people observing a bandh demanding death penalty for Nagrale.

According to the prosecution Nagrale and Ankita were friends for about two years before the incident, till the time she severed ties with him due to alleged advances. It was also alleged that Nagrale had earlier threatened to kill Ankita if she did not accept his proposal for marriage.

Over 400-page charge sheet was filed in the case on February 28, 2020 itself and 29 witnesses were examined during the trial.