Although doctors pronounced Siba dead at 7 am, the victim´s uncle, Raju Hasmi, claimed that she had breathed her last in the wee hours. "The doctors turned up only three hours after my niece died," he said.[break]
Doctors said there was only a faint hope of her survival. "In our present setup, people with burn injuries have a chance of survival only if the burn is not more than 50 percent," said Dr Piyus Dahal, chief of burn unit at Bir. According to him, 90 percent of Siba´s body was severely burnt and she was brought to hospital in a very critical condition.
Siba had been put on oxygen. Dr Dahal said she was given morphine, a strong painkiller, to relive her pain.
With the news of Siba´s death, representatives of several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to empower women reached the hospital to prepare their reports. Later in the day, the body of the deceased was taken to her home after a post mortem at the forensic lab of the Nepal Police at the Institute of Medicine.
Siba Hasmi, a resident of Gulariya municipality-8 in Bardiya district, was deliberately set on fire on Friday morning. She was airlifted to the capital on Monday for burn treatment. Doctors at Bheri Zonal Hospital referred her to a hospital in the capital immediately after she was brought to them but her family could bring her to Kathmandu only after three days because of financial constraints.
Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai and the National Women´s Commission (NWC) had also expressed concern for the victim´s life.
NWC has asked the government to carry out a proper investigation and take action against the guilty. "We have requested the government to provide compensation to the victim´s family and form a team to carry out fair investigations," Mona Ansari, a member of NWC, said. She said NWC has decided to send a team for a field study as contradictory reports were coming in.
Babu Khan, 23, said to be a resident of Baharaich in India´s Uttar Pardesh state, has been accused of pouring petrol on Sabi and setting her ablaze.
Police have arrested Khan and he later admitted to his crime. Siba´s brother Tanbir said Khan had been trying to court his sister for the last four months.
He told Republica that his sister had complained to their mother that Khan was harassing her. He said he and his brothers had asked Khan to leave Siba alone. The family had also complained to Khan´s parents about the harassment.
Tanbir claimed that his sister did not have any relations with Khan, a mechanic at a local motorcycle workshop. "We had asked him several times not to harass our sister, but he took our suggestion negatively," he added. Siba´s family also lodged a complaint at the District Administration Office (DAO).
According to Tanbir, a day before the burning incident, DAO had negotiated a reconciliation and Khan had promised that he would not harass Siba any more.
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