Bhubaneswar: The next 48 hours are critical for the 16-year-old girl, who sustained 70% burns after being set ablaze by three miscreants in Odisha’s Puri, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar Director Ashutosh Biswas told the media on Saturday.
“She is in a critical condition with 70-75% burns. The patient is currently in the ICU. She is on oxygen support but not on ventilator. We are trying to maintain her blood pressure with IV drip. The main challenge is to provide treatment for the second and third-degree burns and proper dressing for the wounds to control infection. The next 48 hours are crucial as we have to protect her organs from getting affected,” he said.
Biswas said the patient is mentally and physically traumatized. “She is able to speak a little bit. She requires acute management,” he added.
The Ghastly Crime
The assault took place around 8.30 am this morning when the victim was on her way to her friend’s house carrying some books. The three attackers, riding a motorcycle, gagged her using a handkerchief on a deserted stretch and abducted her to the Bhargavi riverbank, where she was allegedly doused with an inflammable substance and set on fire.
The incident took place barely 500 metres from their house.
A senior police officer said that the girl suffered burn injuries on her back, abdomen and other parts.
She was initially rushed to the Pipili hospital in Puri and subsequently moved to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar with approximately 70% “total body surface area (TBSA)” burns.