A 28-year-old man allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl and then set her on fire in a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district on Thursday, causing her death. The incident took place in Jujharpur village, which falls under Khurai municipality, the Assembly constituency of state Home Minister Bhupendra Singh, the Hindustan Times reported.

The police said Ravi Chadhar, 28, a resident of Jujharpur village, entered the girl’s house when she was alone on Thursday evening and raped her. Kamal Singh Thakur, in-charge of the Bandri police station near Sagar, said Chadhar poured kerosene on the victim and burnt her alive when she threatened to tell her father about the incident. Thakur said she died soon after.

“Her parents were in Bandri village to attend a function,” he added. “Her younger brother was playing near the house. He told us that he rushed back home when he saw smoke from the house. He also said he saw the accused standing near their house.”

The girl’s cousin informed the accused, who is his friend, that she was alone at home, The New Indian Express reported. “Based on the girl’s dying statement, her family’s statements and also circumstantial evidence, the police have lodged a case of rape and murder,” Sagar District Superintendent of Police Satyendra Shukla told the daily. “Both the accused, including the deceased girl’s cousin have been arrested and are being questioned.”

Bhupendra Singh, the Madhya Pradesh home minister, announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the deceased’s kin. However, he blamed “pornography and perversity” for the incident. “I am leaving for the residence of the girl...perversity in society is responsible for the rise in such incidents across the country,” he said. “To an extent, porn sites are responsible for such incidents. We have shut down 21 such sites and also written to the Centre to take action in this regard.”