E-Paper
Ahmednagar couple set ablaze for inter-caste marriage, woman dies
The police have formed a special team to arrest the woman’s father and his brothers who opposed the marriage
The Ahmednagar police have formed a special team to arrest a man, who along with others, has been accused of killing his pregnant daughter and grievously injuring his son-in-law by setting them on fire to condemn their inter-caste marriage.
According to police, the incident took place at Nighoj village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, when, on May 1, the father, a daily wage labourer, took the extreme step of dousing the couple with kerosene with the help of his two brothers.
He and his relatives were opposed to the inter-caste marriage which had taken place six months ago, police said.
The couple was identified by the police as Mangesh Ransingh (23) and wife Rukmini (19), who was two months pregnant, while the accused were identified as father Rama Bhartiya (who is absconding) and his brothers, identified as Surendra Bhartiya and Ghanshyam Saroj. Bharatiya and Saroj have been arrested.
A case under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempted murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been lodged at Parner police station in the district.
While Mangesh, who worked on daily wages, belonged to the Lohar caste, his wife Rukmini, a domestic help, belonged to Pasi caste, assistant police inspector Vijay Kumar Botre, the investigation officer in the case, said.
According to Botre, the incident took place on May 1 at the woman’s residence in village Nighoj when Mangesh had come to take her home. Rukmini had come to her father’s place after a minor altercation took place between her and the husband.
“A heated argument broke out between him and the relatives after which the accused poured kerosene over Mangesh and Rukmini with the intention of killing them. The accused, in a fit of uncontrollable anger set them on fire. Both the maternal and paternal relatives of Rukmini were against the marriage as it was outside their caste ,” API Botre said.
The accused had locked the couple in a room, poured kerosene and set them on fire. Their cries were heard by the neighbours who rushed to their rescue and took them to the hospital, the relatives of the couple, said. The police have launched a massive manhunt to arrest the father who is absconding since May 1, the day the incident took place.
Rukmini along with her husband was rushed to the Sassoon General Hospital, Pune, where she breathed her last. The husband sustained 40% injuries and was struggling for life, police said.
Rukmini named her father and two uncles in her dying declaration.
