Chennai: A 32-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly setting his wife ablaze at his house in Mangadu on Sunday night.
Following the disclosure from his nine-year-old daughter Bhuvaneswari that she saw her father dousing her mother Varalakshmi with kerosene, the accused was arrested.
The family of Sabari, a daily wage worker, lived in a rented house in Kolumanivakkam near Mangadu. During questioning, neighbours told police that Sabari quarreled with his wife in an inebriated condition and subsequently Varalalakshmi screamed for help in the night.
Neighbours rushed to the place and found her with burns. She was rushed to Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) hospital for her treatment. She didn’t reveal any information to police personnel and the doctors as she was not in a position to talk. She sucummbed to burns on Tuesday morning.
Police noted that Sabari and her two children had not suffered any burns and when questioned Sabari claimed that he tried to rescue her but stayed back, as he kept the children at bay from approaching the burning mother. He projected it as a suicide.
Police personnel got a breakthrough when they spoke to the children separately. When confronted, Sabari confessed to the crime.
Preliminary inquiries revealed that Sabari often returned home drunk in the night and picked up quarrel with his wife for trivial issue. On Sunday night, he reached home drunk and after a quarrel he set his wife on fire, when she was sleeping.
