Labourer burns wife alive in Morbi

Doubting her character, a labourer from Madhya Pradesh allegedly burnt his wife alive on the premises of a ceramic kiln near Wankaner town in Morbi district late on Monday night. Within hours of the incident, police arrested the accused husband early on Tuesday morning.

Wankaner city police said Hariram Suryavanshi sprinkled kerosene on his wife Maya (26) and set her ablaze inside their cottage in Acutop Ceramic in Vaghasiya industrial area near Wankaner around 11.30 pm on Monday after the couple had a fight. As Maya turned into a ball of fire, Suryavanshi tried to save her but in vain. Out of fear, the man ran away from their cottage, abandoning his burning wife and four daughters, police said.

Suryavashi’s eldest daughter Payal (9), who was present in the cottage, raised the alarm. Other labourers rushed to the site, but Maya died on the spot, Wankaner city police inspector Labhshankar Bhatt said on Tuesday. During primary interrogation, the man told police that he killed his wife suspecting she had an extramarital affair.