AHMEDABAD: A woman allegedly set her 60-year-old husband on fire over a money dispute in Samatra village in Bhuj taluka of Gujarat.
The victim, Dhanjibhai Kerai, died during treatment.
Police have arrested the accused wife, Kailash Chauhan, and booked her for murder.
What began as a routine argument inside a house turned into a horrifying blaze. According to investigators, Kailash Kanubhai Chauhan, the 40-year-old second wife of Dhanjibhai, had been pressuring him to hand over money for a house she purchased in Bhuj.
When he refused, her anger reportedly exploded into violence.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (West Kutch), Manish J. Christian said, “The woman dragged her husband to the garage, poured kerosene on him and set him ablaze.”
The couple had married just a year and a half ago, after the death of Dhanjibhai’s first wife. This was the second marriage for both. Dhanjibhai, who had three sons from his first marriage, all settled in Seychelles (UK) was living with Kailash in Samatra.
A week before the incident, his youngest son Kapil, had come home.
According to police sources, on that evening, when Dhanjibhai refused to give her money, Kailash reportedly grabbed his hand, led him into the garage, picked up a bottle containing a flammable liquid, and drenched him.
She then struck a match from a box she had brought and set him on fire.
As the flames engulfed him, Kailash calmly walked out, locked the garage from the outside, and went upstairs.
Hearing his screams, Kapil and neighbors rushed in, forced open the door, and threw a cloth over the burning man in a desperate attempt to save him.
He was rushed to GK General Hospital in Bhuj with severe burns. But despite hours of treatment, Dhanjibhai succumbed to his injuries.
The Mankuva police registered an FIR late Saturday night based on the victim’s own statement recorded before his death.
He recounted how Kailash repeatedly harassed him for money and the jewelry belonging to his late first wife. She had allegedly bought a house in Bhuj and constantly threatened to kill him if he refused to fund it.
“If you don’t give the money, I won’t let you live,” she reportedly said before the attack.
Police arrested Kailash shortly after the incident. She remains in custody and has shown no sign of remorse. Authorities are preparing to seek remand for further interrogation.
