Maha Couple Burnt Alive by Girl’s Family for Inter-Caste Marriage

The girl, who succumbed to her injuries, was two months pregnant. Her husband has survived with 40% burns.

A woman and her husband were set ablaze allegedly by her father and relatives in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district as they were opposed to the couple's marriage, police said on Monday, 6 May.

While the woman died of burn injuries at a Pune hospital on Sunday, 5 May, the man is battling for life with over 40 percent burns, an official said. A family member told The Indian Express that the girl was two months pregnant.

Terming it an ‘honour’ killing, Inspector Vijaykumar Botre of Parner tehsil in Pune said Mangesh Chandrakant Ranasing (23) and his wife Rukmini Rama Bharathiya (23) were set ablaze for getting married despite being from different castes.

The incident happened on 1 May in Nighoj village, 60 kilometres from the district headquarters, he added.

Botre told The Indian Express (IE) that Mangesh belonged to the Lohar community while Rukmini is from the Pasi community. The two married around Diwali last year, despite strong opposition from members of the woman’s family. The wedding was attended by Mangesh’s family, while only Rukmini’s mother attended.

“Ever since the marriage, Rukmini’s family members had been threatening to harm the couple, saying they were against the inter-caste marriage,” Bothre told IE.

Police told IE that on 30 April, the couple had a fight over a petty issue, following which Rukmini went to her father’s house. She had called him on 5 May and asked him to take her back home. As Mangesh went to pick her up, the family members allegedly refused to let her go. After a heated argument in the afternoon, the two were set ablaze.

“In the statement to the police, Mangesh said that on 1 May, two of Rukmini’s uncles poured petrol on the couple and set them on fire inside a room, while the woman’s father locked the room from outside,” the sub-inspector said.

Neighbours who heard the couple's screams managed to rescue them and alert the police, a police official said, adding that all the accused managed to escape.

"We rushed them to Sassoon Hospital in Pune where Rukmini died on Sunday while undergoing treatment. In her dying declaration, she has named the accused. We have arrested Surendrakumar and Ghanshyam. Accused Rama Bharathiya is absconding and efforts are on to nab him," Botre said.

Vikrant, meanwhile, said that the entire episode had left their family shocked. “Mangesh has received major burn injuries on his neck and other body parts. He had got to know that my sister-in-law was being harassed by her family members on 1 May and so he had sought the help from the local police in Nighoj. But I got to know that cops ignored his complaint. We want Rukmini’s family members to be given maximum punishment as per the law,” he said.

(With inputs from PTI and The Indian Express)