Bangalore woman dies of burns, husband in dock

A 25-year-old woman succumbed to burn injuries on Sunday morning in the city, with her family alleging that she was set afire by her husband, who has since been arrested.   

Swetha TC, a resident of Chamarajapete, breathed her last in Victoria Hospital. Her neighbours had rushed to her house when they heard her screams on Saturday about 11.30am.

They found that she was covered in flames. They doused the fire and shifted her to hospital. The police said the neighbours told them that Swetha was alone in the house at the time.

Swetha had got married to Prasad, 35, in May 2010. He works as a marketing executive in an audio company. Swetha’s family suspects that he had set her afire and then fled from the house.
Her brother Sudheer TC said although Prasad learnt about the incident at 11.30am on Saturday, he informed the family after two hours.

The police said a month after their wedding, Prasad began harassing Swetha to ask her parents to give him their farm. He wanted to sell the farm and use the money to build a house and start a business.

Sudheer said Swetha had even called her mother, complaining that Prasad was harassing her mentally and physically.
Jayalakshmi, Swetha’s mother, said six months after their wedding, Swetha learnt that Prasad had been married twice earlier. She said Prasad had then started harassing her daughter even more.

Swetha’s body was handed over to her family after postmortem. The police have registered a case of dowry harassment and taken Prasad into custody.