A woman was allegedly tied to a chair, doused with petrol and burnt alive by her husband over suspicion of an extramarital affair in Jagatpur village of Kannauj district on Thursday morning. The woman’s body was reduced to a skeleton in the blaze, which took the fire personnel nearly one-and-a-half hours to extinguish.
The accused, identified as Sukhbir Singh alias Monu, 35, fled with the couple’s two children. The children, a seven-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, were with him when he escaped, villagers said.
The flames rising from the house alerted residents, who rushed to the spot and informed the police and fire brigade. When firefighters eventually entered the house, they found Sonam’s skeletal remains.
Later in the day, Sukhbir with his two children surfaced at Kannauj Kotwali. SP Kannauj Vinod Kumar said that Sukhbir has been arrested and Sonam’s family has been given custody of the two children for the time being.
According to reports Sukhbir had married Sonam 11 years ago in a love marriage. He worked in a private job in Hisar, Haryana, and had returned to the village around 15 days ago.
Villagers said Sukhbir suspected Sonam of having an affair with a local youth. He allegedly began keeping watch on her and once caught her talking to the man on her mobile phone. The incident reportedly triggered repeated arguments between the couple over the next two days.
{{/usCountry}}Villagers said Sukhbir suspected Sonam of having an affair with a local youth. He allegedly began keeping watch on her and once caught her talking to the man on her mobile phone. The incident reportedly triggered repeated arguments between the couple over the next two days.
{{/usCountry}}A dispute over the alleged relationship had also led to a meeting at the Sikandarpur police post two days before the killing. Both sides were called for a discussion, which continued for hours. According to local accounts, Sonam agreed to stay with her husband and leave the alleged relationship behind following the settlement.
The same evening, the youth allegedly consumed poison and was admitted to a local clinic after his condition deteriorated. He survived following the treatment.
The couple reportedly quarrelled again the following day. On Thursday morning, Sukhbir allegedly left the house in anger and returned around half an hour later with petrol in a bottle. He is accused of tying Sonam to a chair, pouring petrol over her and setting her alight before fleeing.
SHO Chibramau Kapil Dubey reached the spot with a police team and inspected the scene. He said preliminary investigation indicated that the woman had been burnt by her husband after being tied up, with suspicion over her character emerging as the apparent motive.
“The couple had a serious dispute two days earlier and that a complaint had been made at police post,” he said, adding Sukhbir remains absconding, and police are conducting raids to arrest him while questioning villagers about the incident.