Horror as husband accused of killing wife by setting her on fire while she was sleeping

A woman has died after her husband allegedly poured petrol over her and set her on fire while she was sleeping. The horrifying incident happened in the city of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India, late on Sunday night. The woman, identified as Kamla, suffered burns to around 90% of her body and was rushed to hospital in a critical condition by her husband and other members of his family.

She was later transferred to another hospital for further treatment but died from her injuries early on Tuesday morning. Police said Kamla had been sleeping outside her home alongside her husband, Prakash, when the incident happened. Their two young children, aged four and one-and-a-half, were sleeping with their grandparents at the time.

Prakash initially told police that his wife had set herself on fire. However, officers became suspicious and visited the scene to collect evidence.

Police said their investigation found that only the couple’s bedding had been burned, despite Prakash having been sleeping alongside his wife.

Officers said they would have expected both of them to suffer burns if events had happened in the way initially described.

Kamla’s family have since made serious allegations against her husband.

Her brother alleged that Prakash poured petrol over Kamla and deliberately set her on fire. He also claimed other members of her husband’s family were involved in an alleged conspiracy.

The family further alleged that Kamla had suffered harassment over dowry demands following her marriage nine years ago and that her husband had assaulted her.

Police have registered a murder case and detained Prakash for questioning.

Investigators are also looking into the alleged involvement of other family members as they work to establish exactly what happened.