Pathiripala: An unknown person allegedly barged into a house and tried to attack a girl and set fire to a par of the house at Akalur near here. Her parents were out for work when the incident happened at 4.30 pm on Thursday. The intruder, a man, is believed to be a robber.
The class-6 student found the door of her house open when she returned from school and entered thinking that her parents were back from work. But to her shock, she found a stranger inside. The panic-stricken girl ran to the upper floor of the house and locked herself inside a room.
Seeing this, the intruder took a can of kerosene and poured it into her room and set the room on fire. Soon, the girl ran into the open terrace and jumped into the kitchen vent and escaped. She told that the man tripped and fell while chasing her. He later fled the scene.
Curtains, tiles and the roof have been damaged in the fire.
A complaint has been lodged with the Ottapalam police. CI P Abdul Muneer and ASI Udaya Kumar inspected the crime scene and told that a thorough investigation is needed.
The incident happened near Pathiripala town in Palakkad district.
