Days After Maharashtra Couple Set Ablaze, Cops Say Husband Culprit
Two uncles have been arrested by the Ahmednagar police, while the search is on for her absconding father.
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Days after Ahmednagar police arrested a 19-year-old woman’s father and uncles for allegedly setting her and her husband ablaze, the police have now concluded that the culprit was the husband, reported The Indian Express.
The 19-year-old woman, Rukmini Ransingh, who was two months pregnant, succumbed to her burns in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar on Sunday, the daily had reported on Monday, 6 May.
While Rukmini succumbed to her injuries, her husband Mangesh Ransingh, 23, is still being treated and is said to be stable.
Speaking to The Indian Express, DSP Manish Kalwania said: “Based on circumstantial evidence and statements of witnesses who had accompanied the couple on their way to hospital after the incident, we have come to the conclusion that the girl was set on fire by her husband. Further investigation is on.”
The cops now believe that Mangesh poured petrol on Rukmini and set her ablaze, sustaining injuries in the process. However, why Rukmini named her family members in her statement before dying is yet to be ascertained, they added. The initial FIR was reportedly filed based on this statement.
Father, Uncles Earlier Arrested Under Suspicion
The police had earlier arrested the woman's father Rama Bhartiy and uncles Surendra Bhartiy and Ghansham Saroj, for having allegedly set Rukmini ablaze for marrying Mangesh, who is not from their caste. The girl was from the Lohar community whereas her husband belongs to the Pasi community.
They will now be released after the completion of the legal procedure, Kalwania told The Indian Express.
The victims were taken for treatment at the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune where Rukmini, who had sustained more than 70 percent burns, succumbed to her injuries on Sunday night. This was corroborated by hospital's medical superintendent Ajay Taware who added that Mangesh is still being treated.
(With inputs from ANI and The Indian Express)
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