Woman’s dying words: My husband set me on fire

“He struck up a conversation with her and offered her a cold drink laced with sedatives. Once she became drowsy, he asked her to come with him, but she refused,” the officer said.

A 27-year-old woman, in her dying declaration, has recounted how her estranged husband first mixed sedatives in her cold drink, and then doused her with petrol and set her on fire — all because she did not want to be with him. The woman died at LNJP Hospital on July 3, and the accused was arrested on the basis of her dying declaration. DCP (Rohini district) Rishi Pal said, “We have arrested the accused, Sunny, and sent him to judicial custody in Tihar.” Police said the victim, Praveena, married Sunny four years ago, but the two would fight on a daily basis.

“She started staying at her parental home on May 10 after they had a heated argument,” a senior police officer said. The woman said she was attacked on June 26, when she had stepped out of her home to go to the toilet in the fields. Sunny was waiting for her near Bawana Canal. “He struck up a conversation with her and offered her a cold drink laced with sedatives. Once she became drowsy, he asked her to come with him, but she refused,” the officer said.

She told police that this agitated Sunny, who then poured petrol on her and set her on fire. “He fled the spot, thinking she is dead. The woman was found by locals, who took her to the hospital,” the officer said. Doctors said the woman suffered 90 per cent burn injuries. “For three days, police had no leads. But in her dying declaration before the police and sub-divisional magistrate, the woman said she had been attacked by her husband,” the officer said.

Sunny was arrested after police conducted raids in Nangloi. “He said his relatives mocked him after his wife went away. He had gone with a plan — either she agrees to return with him and he lets her live, or he kills her. That was why he was carrying petrol and even a gun,” the officer said.

Mahender Singh Manral

Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More

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