A youth in a Chhattisgarh town on Friday was thrown into fire by a group of holi revellers for resisting their attempt to rob him, police said.
The gruesome incident took place in the town of Mahasamund, nearly 150 km from here.
The victim, Rahul Singh, working as a cook in a hotel, has suffered 80 per cent burn injuries and was battling for his life in the local government hospital.
According to the police, the unidentified miscreants, who were completely drunk after celebrating holi on Thursday, spotted the youth early in the morning near a bonfire, lit on the occasion of the festival of colours, and tried to rob him of his money and other valuables.
“The anti-socials got furious when the youth tried to defend him and pushed him into the fire. They also beat him severely foiling all his attempts to escape from fire. Later, some passersby rescued the youth and admitted in the local hospital”, the investigating officer told this newspaper.
“We have launched a manhunt to nab the miscreants”, he added.