A 16-year-old girl, who was allegedly being harassed for the last 20 days, died on Tuesday, five days after immolating herself in Punjab's Sangrur district.

The victim, who suffered 75 per cent burn injuries, died on Tuesday morning while undergoing treatment at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, capital of Punjab, ANI reports.

After being stalked and eve-teased for 20 days, the victim, a class 12 student, had set herself on fire on last Wednesday. However, the incident came to light on Monday when her brother informed the media.

The minor girl had accused four youths for the crime, including three from her village and the fourth one from neighbouring village, Khadewal. "They were harassing me for the past 15-20 days. They would pass comments, chase me and then surround me. Such were their remarks and comments that I can't even tell you... I didn't tell my parents as I feared that my family would stop me from going to school. I wish to become a doctor and never want to discontinue my studies," The Times of India quoted the victim as saying.

A case was registered only on Monday as the Lehragaga police were "busy making arrangements" for Punjab Chief Minister P S Badal's visit to the district on Sunday, the victim's brother alleged. The police did not register the complaint immediately, he told TOI, adding that "Nobody turned up till Monday evening."

The police, however, rejected the accusations, saying they took immediate action. "Our officer immediately informed a magistrate, who recorded her statement," a senior officer said.

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