A 19-year-old girl suffered serious burns after being allegedly set on fire by her in-laws at Irba village, about 15km from Ranchi, police said.

The victim, who is said to have eloped with and married a youth last year, suffered serious burns when her in-laws allegedly set her on fire on Friday night when she had gone to urge them to accept her into their household.

In her statement to police, the girl said she had married one Asfaq Ansari (23) last year, but her husband had kept refusing to take her home on one pretext or the other.

But when she finally went to Ansari's home at Irba under the Ormanjhi block and urged his parents to accept her as their daughter-in-law, her husband rejected her claim and allegedly joined his parents and sister in beating her up before dousing her with kerosene and setting her on fire.

Hearing the victim's cries, villagers rushed to her rescue and took her to a nearby hospital. Police said that the victim has suffered 80 per cent burns and her condition is serious.

Ansari works at a private company in Jamshedpur, while the girl studies in a college here, police said.

A case has been registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 498A (subjecting a married woman to cruelty) of IPC and the matter is being investigated, they said.