Shantidevi (name changed), a Sri Lankan refugee, committed self-immolation after a Indian police Sub Inspector allegedly outraged her modesty inside the police station in Karur, Tamil Nadu on March 7, the Times of India reported today.

According to the report she is battling for her life in a government hospital. The 27-year-old was staying in a refugee camp near Chennai.

According to lawyers, police tried to prevent her from giving a "dying declaration" to a magistrate, and that what had been recorded was a watered down version obtained under duress and coercion.