Ramulamma was asleep at her home in Chowdavada village of Andhra’s Vizianagaram, surrounded by her family members, on the night of Thursday, August 19. Around 1 am, her family woke up in shock, as she had been set ablaze. Her fiancé, Rambabu, who had been in a relationship with her for two years, and had reportedly shown reluctance to marry her lately, had allegedly poured petrol on Ramulamma and set her on fire. She was rushed to a nearby hospital by the police, and is now being shifted to Visakhapatnam for further treatment, as per Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s orders. While The New Indian Express reported that she suffered 60% burns, authorities informed the CM that Ramulamma’s health is now stable. Her sister and nephew, who tried to save her, also suffered burns and were hospitalised.
The 21-year-old Ramulamma, who belongs to Chowdavada village, in Pusapatirega mandal of Vizianagaram district, had been in a relationship with Rambabu, a van driver from Ranastalam mandal of Srikakulam, for nearly two years, her mother Kondamma told a local media outlet. With their families becoming involved, and agreeing to their marriage, she said that a dowry amount and other details were discussed and their wedding was fixed to take place in October 2021. However, Rambabu then refused to marry Ramulamma, Kondamma said, after which the family approached the local police for intervention. According to Ramulamma’s maternal uncle, Rambabu expressed his suspicion that Ramulamma was involved with another man.
With the local police intervening, both families were summoned along with village elders, and through the meeting, urged Rambabu to agree to the wedding, Kondamma said. She added that the family feared that no one would marry Ramulamma as it was known that she had been in a relationship with Rambabu for a long time. “We were worried that he might abuse her after the marriage, and the police asked us to approach them if he did so,” the mother said. For the past few days, Kondamma said that Rambabu often visited their house around midnight. “‘He would climb the terrace, see her (Ramulamma), and then leave. We asked his mother why he was doing this, she said he was doing it casually so we didn’t do anything. We never thought he would set her on fire,” she said.
Ramulamma’s uncle said that things were fine between the two of them until the wedding was fixed. Refuting the possibility that Ramulamma was in a relationship with another man, he said, “We even brought in the man whom he suspected she was involved with to prove it wasn’t true.” CM Jagan has inquired into the incident, and asked officials to ensure proper healthcare is provided to Ramulamma and her injured relatives, and that stringent action is taken against the accused. According to reports, Rambabu has been taken into police custody.