Maharashtra: Man booked for setting his wife ablaze over birth of third daughter in Parbhani

A man in Maharashtra allegedly poured petrol and set his wife ablaze after she gave birth to the their third daughter, police said on Saturday.

The incident allegedly occurred in the state’s Parbhani district, news agency PTI reported, quoting a police official.

Kundlik Uttam Kale (32) is said to have killed his wife Maina in Gangakhed Naka, some 520 kilometres from the state capital Mumbai, on Thursday night, according to the official.

As per the complaint submitted by the victim’s sister, the accused used to taunt his wife over giving birth to three daughters and would frequently pick up fights with her on this issue.

“On Thursday night, after one such argument, he poured petrol on her and set her ablaze. She ran out of the house screaming where people tried to douse the fire. However, by then she was severely burnt and died while being rushed to a hospital,” the official said.

Kale has been arrested for murder, the Gangakhed police station official told PTI.

Jharkhand SDO booked after wife set herself on fire

A case was filed against SDO of Hazaribag Sadar Ashok Kumar after his wife, who allegedly set herself on fire, succumbed to burn injuries, according to the police.

The wife had allegedly set herself on fire at their official residence in Hazaribag’s Lohsinghna on Thursday.

She was rushed to the burn unit of the Bokaro General Hospital before she was shifted to the private hospital in Ranchi, where she breathed her last on Friday.

Addressing a press conference, Superintendent of Police Arvind Kumar Singh said a case was registered against the SDO, his father Duryodhan Sahu, younger brother Shivnandan and his sister-in-law Rinku Devi on the basis of the statement of the victim’s brother.

In his statement, the brother claimed that since Kumar was promoted, there was a lot of change in his behaviour towards his wife.

The differences between Kumar and his wife further deteriorated after she learned that he was having an extramarital affair, he claimed.

The SP said Sub-Divisional Police Officer (HQ) Amit Kumar Anand has been directed to investigate the case. Action against those named in the FIR will be taken only after their statements are recorded, he said.

The SDO, however, claimed he had no hand in the death of his wife. He said that when he came to know about his wife setting herself on fire, he tried to save her and received burn injuries.

He said that he was even admitted to the hospital for treatment.

Kumar got married to his wife in 2011, and they had a nine-year-old son and four-year-old daughter.

The SP said no favour will be shown to the SDO during the investigation.

“Nobody is above the law and SDO Ashok Kumar will also have to meet the same fate if the allegations against him are proven to be correct,” he added.

However, no arrests have been made yet.

Meanwhile, the woman’s family members gheraoed the police station along with her body, demanding immediate action against the SDO. Police said they have also recorded the statements of the staff of the SDO’s official residence.