A skirmish between two neighbours took an ugly turn leading to the death of a woman on Friday.
The victim, Pushpa (39), lived next door to George and his family in Boopathy Nagar, Kilpauk. George and his wife Elizabeth, have two sons and a daughter.
Though the families had maintained friendly relations in the past, when a marriage alliance for George’s son fell through, George’s family allegedly blamed Pushpa for it.
A frustrated Pushpa had threatened to kill herself to prove her innocence on Thursday. Even as the families were arguing, Pushpa allegedly poured kerosene on herself. George, Elizabeth and their children tried to prevent her from setting herself on fire, but failed.
The Kilpauk police inspector who is investigating the case said, “It is a small house spanning less than 100 sq. ft., and when Pushpa tried to balance herself by extending her hand she accidentally touched the flames from the gas stove and caught fire.”
The others surrounded her in an effort to save her and in the process, all of them were injured. Pushpa died in Government Kilpauk Hospital early on Friday, while the others are still being treated at the burns ward of the hospital, the inspector added.
Police said further investigations are on.
