Heat crime: Man stabs wife who set herself on fire and hugged him after fight over air cooler

Niranjan Ahriwar stabbed his wife purportedly to save himself, when she tried to hug him while still ablaze. The woman – Shukhvati – was adamant that they buy a desert cooler in view of the ongoing heat wave.

As an unprecedented heat wave swept over Madhya Pradesh, where temperatures touched the 42°C mark, nearly five degrees above normal, a woman in Bundelkhand’s Chhatarpur district allegedly immolated herself after her husband refused to invest in a desert cooler.

Police at the house of Niranjan Ahriwar in Dharampura village, where the incident took place.(HT Photo)

Police said she then tried to hug her husband while still ablaze, but he stabbed her to death with a kitchen knife in a purported attempt to save himself.

The bizarre incident occurred at the residence of one Niranjan Ahriwar in Dharampura village on Tuesday night. According to Nowgawh station house officer Vinayak Shukla, the woman – Shukhvati – was insistent that they buy a desert cooler in view of the rising temperature.

Niranjan Ahriwar has been admitted to the Chhatarpur district hospital with burn injuries. (HT Photo)

“They had an argument, and tempers rose. Finally, the wife, in a fit of anger, poured kerosene all over herself and lit a match. Then she tried to hug her husband, saying she will die with him. In desperation, Niranjan picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed her,” said Shukla.

Ahriwar gave himself up at the police station on Tuesday midnight, after which he was admitted to the Chhatarpur district hospital with burns. A case has been lodged.

All five districts of Bundelkhand – Sagar, Damoh, Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh and Panna – recorded temperatures of over 40°C on Tuesday. Damoh recorded the highest, at 42°C.