A man poured petrol on his sister-in-law and set her on fire over a family grudge in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district. The woman, identified as Nirmala, died of severe burn injuries.
The woman’s husband, Prakash, had died by suicide six months ago. Prakash’s elder brother, Suresh, had blamed his sister-in-law for allegedly driving his younger brother to death by suicide.
Since her husband’s death, Nirmala had been living with her two children in her in-laws’ home. Her brother-in-law, however, held a grudge against her as he blamed her for his younger brother’s death, the local police said.
On Saturday, Suresh assaulted the woman and dragged her out of the house, poured petrol on her and set her on fire. She died on the spot, the police said.
“We got a call from Suresh saying ‘we have set your sister on fire’. He used to blame my sister for her husband’s death. They have been threatening to kill her,” Nirmala’s brother told reporters.
“I was going to bring her home today when they called us to say they have killed her,” he said.
The police said they have arrested Suresh.
