Man sets sleeping wife on fire over suspicions of infidelity in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: A man has been arrested for allegedly burning his wife alive after accusing her of infidelity, police said on Friday.

According to investigators, the suspect bought petrol in a bottle, returned home and waited until his wife was asleep before dousing her with fuel and setting her ablaze in the early hours of 23 December. Officers said he had been drinking before carrying out the attack. 

The couple had been married for a decade. The man worked as a construction labourer, while his wife was employed in housekeeping. Police said his persistent suspicion over her fidelity had escalated into a premeditated plan to kill her.

Their two children – an eight-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl – were inside the house when the incident unfolded. Witnesses told police the children ran out in panic as the flames spread. The man allegedly fled with his son, leaving his daughter screaming for help.

Neighbours rushed to the home after hearing the child’s cries and the woman’s desperate pleas. They alerted police, who took the severely injured woman to a government hospital. She sustained burns over 95 per cent of her body and later died despite efforts to save her.

The accused had switched off his phone and moved between locations in an attempt to evade capture. Police, however, tracked him down and arrested him within 36 hours of the crime.

(With inputs from PTI)