In a gruesome incident, a 25-year-old woman was doused with petrol and burnt alive by her jilted lover in full public view on the main road of Shanti Nagar in Lallaguda on Thursday evening.
Sandhya Rani is battling for life with 70 per cent burn injuries at Gandhi Hospital. Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Zone), B. Sumathi told The Hindu that the unemployed friend Karthik followed her from an aluminium store in Lallaguda where she was employed as computer operator. According to the police, Karthik swooped on Sandhya all of a sudden, doused her with petrol and set her afire.
The incident took place at around 6.45 p.m when Sandhya was on her way back home. Ms. Sumathi said that both Karthik and Sandhya were colleagues at the store and had developed a relationship. Karthik was sacked by his employer a year ago for being incompetent.
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“The couple had an argument on phone recently, when Karthik asked her to quit the job. However, Sandhya insisted on continuing with the job and ended their relationship,” DCP Sumathi said. Enraged by her decision, Karthik decided to kill her and set her ablaze.
The police have registered a case. Unconfirmed reports said that Karthik was nabbed by the police late in the night.