Man sets wife ablaze over dowry
A 32-year-old man allegedly set his wife ablaze, killing her at their Kurla residence, after she refused to give in to repeated dowry demands.
A 32-year-old man allegedly set his wife ablaze, killing her at their Kurla residence, after she refused to give in to repeated dowry demands.
Police said Ikrar Khan, a vegetable vendor, along with his sister and brother-in-law, had allegedly been torturing 26-year-old Khurshida into getting money from her parents for a new house, police said.
The incident took place around 1.30am on Wednesday at the Khan’s tenement at Bhartiya Nagar in Kurla (West) after he had a fight with Khurshida.
“Khan, his sister and brother-in-law had been forcing Khurshida to ask her parents for Rs. 10,000– Rs. 20,000 as they wanted to buy a new house.
On Tuesday night, they fought over the same issue following which Khurshida went to sleep,” said Chandrakant Shivli, senior inspector, VB Nagar police station at Kurla (West).
While Khurshida and her two children were fast asleep, Khan poured kerosene over her and set her on fire. When the neighbours were alerted on hearing Khurshida’s cried, Khan took Khurshida to hospital.
Khan claimed Khurshida was burned in a minor accident in the house. Khurshida who had sustained 95% burns, died by the time she reached the hospital.
Later, the police recorded the statement of Khurshida’s father Abdul Khan, 70, who alleged that Khan along with his sister Shameen, 35, and her husband Arshan Khan, 31, had been harassing his daughter ever since they got married in 2000.
“Khurshida’s family had paid Rs. 1 lakh to the accused recently. They, however, demanded more money.
When Khurshida refused to ask for more they continued to harass her,” said assistant commissioner of police Prabhakar Satam. Based on the complaint, the police said they investigated the matter and found that Khan had, in fact, poured kerosene on Khurshida and set her ablaze.
Based on their investigations and the statement given by Khurshida’s father, the police registered a case of murder against the three accused. While Khan, who also sustained burn injuries in the incident, is currently in hospital, his sister and brother-in-law are currently on the run.