Surat man records video of wife's self-immolation instead of saving her; arrested

Surat: When a 31-year-old woman immolated herself at home in Surat over a marital dispute, her husband recorded a video of the incident instead of saving her, leading police to file a case and arrest him on Friday.

The 33-year-old man, Ranjit Saha, was arrested on cruelty and abetment of suicide charges for recording his wife's self-immolation instead of saving her, police said.

The woman, Pratimadevi, later died.

The Icchapor police on January 14 registered a case against Saha under sections 85 (cruelty by husband/relative) and 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Inspector AC Gohil told PTI.

The woman set herself on fire on January 4, according to her statement recorded by police on January 11, days before her death. However, the woman's brother suspected the involvement of her husband in her death and alerted police, Gohil said.

"After starting investigation, we found a clip in his mobile phone where he was recording his wife's self-immolation instead of saving her," said the Inspector.

The self-immolation was triggered by a fight between the couple, originally hailing from Bihar, because of a minor dispute involving their children. During the fight, Saha allegedly told his wife to use some oil and burn herself, police said.

The wife poured diesel kept in home on herself and self-immolated. To prove his innocence and avoid blame for his wife's death, Saha recorded the entire episode on his phone, they said.

Diesel was kept in the house because Saha works at a garage and he had brought the oil to mix it with phenyl for floor cleaning, police said.

Pratimadevi was shifted to a hospital on January 4, but succumbed to her burn injuries on January 11.

Saha and Pratimadevi, natives of Bihar, had a love marriage after eloping from their homes and then a court-registered wedding in 2013. They settled in Surat with their two sons and a daughter three years ago, Gohil said.