7-year-old girl sets herself on fire while imitating TV show
A seven-year-old girl, who reportedly tried to imitate a fire-dance scene in a tele-serial, died after setting herself ablaze.
The victim has been identified as Prarthana, a second standard student of a private school in Davanagere district’s Harihara town Karnataka. She is the eldest daughter of Manjunath and Chaitra, residents of Ashraya Colony.
The incident occurred on November 11 and she succumbed to the burn injuries the next day. But the incident came to light on Wednesday after parents lodged a complaint with the Harihara police.
TV Serials
According to the girl’s mother Chaitra, Prarthana used to regularly watch two Kannada serials, including a horror-thriller. In one of the serials, the lead character is seen dancing on fire. Chaitra suspected that her daughter was influenced by the fire dance and tried it out when no one was at home.
Prarthana had reportedly thrown a few papers around her and set them on fire without realising that it will engulf her too. Chaitra said Prarthana was keen on watching serials. “We had advised her and warned her several times not to sit in front of the television. But there are times when she dodged us and went to our relatives house to watch teleserials. We have lost our daughter but we want other parents to be cautious. Please do not make children sit along with you and watch serials,” Chaitra appealed.
The incident has sent shock waves across the state and has triggered a debate on allowing children to watch tele-serials that are not apt for them. Several Kannada tele-serial artistes have expressed their condolences to the bereaved family.
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