Inter-caste marriage: Pregnant woman burnt to death by kin including father

A woman, two-months pregnant, died and her husband sustained severe burns at a village in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, district after the couple were set ablaze on May 1 reportedly by the woman’s family members, Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

The attackers included the girl’s father too and the family was reportedly against the couple’s inter-caste marriage.

The police identified the woman as Rukmini Ransingh, 19, who had sustained 70 per cent burns and died at Pune’s Sassoon General Hospital. Her husband, Mangesh Ransingh, a mason, was being treated for 50 per cent burns at the same hospital, they said.

The Ahmednagar police said the incident took place in Nighoj village of Parnar taluka, around 55 km from Ahmednagar city.

The police have launched a probe into the incident on the basis of the statement recorded by the couple while undergoing treatment and a dying declaration by Rukmini. So far, police have arrested Rukmini’s uncles — Surendra Bhartiya and Ghansham Saroj — and have launched a search for her father, Rama Bhartiya, who had fled the village after the incident, the IE report said.