Post News Network
Bhawanipatna, March 12: In a shocking incident, a man set his wife on fire by pouring kerosene on her following a spat at their house in Jagannathpur village under Sadar police limits here over her refusal to give him money for consuming liquor Thursday afternoon.
As Basanti Shabar (21), the woman, screamed for help after being set on fire by her husband Brajanath Shabar, neighbours rushed to the spot and doused the fire.
Later, relatives and locals rushed the woman to the district headquarter hospital in an ambulance. Sources said the woman, with 99 per cent burns, was now battling for life. The hospital was making arrangements to shift her to VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, the woman’s ‘dying’ declarations were recorded at the hospital in the presence of a magistrate. The accused husband fled the area after the incident. According to the statement, the accused, who got drunk in the morning, asked his wife to give some money for liquor. When she refused to part with money, he thrashed her black and blue before setting her on fire, the statement said.
Informed, the victim’s parents reached the hospital. The accused had been beating her frequently ever since their marriage, the parents said.