BHOPAL: A Rajasthan based man allegedly threw petrol over his 22-year-old wife's face in broad daylight in a narrow street adjoining Marwadi Road in Kotwali locality on Tuesday afternoon and set her ablaze. The woman's face was engulfed in flames and the accused fled the spot.
Locals spotted the woman screaming in pain and doused her fire with rain water accumulated in the potholes on the street. Neighbours brought water in buckets and doused the fire. The woman was rushed to Hamidia hospital for treatment. She suffered around 5 percent burn injuries and was discharged after treatment.
Kotwali police acting on her complaint, registered a case on charges of cruelty and attempt to murder against her husband under relevant sections of IPC and started investigations.
The woman has been residing with her sister. The accused husband had called her to meet and committed the crime. CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media on Wednesday in which the accused was seen setting the woman ablaze and running away.
ACP (Kotwali) Nagendra Pateria said that the complainant Muskan Khan, 22, a resident of Sajida Nagar, was married to Raees Khan, a resident of Aliganj Chhabda in Rajasthan on April 4, 2019. Raees works as a porter. Whenever Muskan called her family members over mobile phone, Raees suspected her. He started assaulting her on a regular basis. Fed up of harassment, Muskan returned to Bhopal on March 18, 2022 and started residing with her sister Sana. She started working as a caretaker at a home on Marwadi Road to earn livelihood. A case has been going on before a family court.
ACP Pateria said that on Tuesday Muskan had gone to work. In the afternoon, Raees called her and said that he had sent divorce paper online. He asked her to go to a MPonline kiosk and take out the hard copy of the documents and sign them. Around 3pm, when she went out on Lane number-4 on Marwadi Road in Kotwali to search for a kiosk, the accused Raees waylaid her. He grabbed her and started pressurising her to go with him. When she protested, the accused took out a small bottle from his pocket in which he had brought petrol with him. He poured the petrol over her face and head. Before she could understand anything, he took out a lighter from his pocket and set her ablaze. Muskan's face and hair started burning. Before the locals could nab the accused, he fled the spot. Locals doused the fire with water and rushed her to hospital.
ACP Pateria said that Muskan suffered 5 percent burns on her face. She was discharged from the hospital after treatment. Police have registered a case and search was on to nab the accused.
