A professor in an engineering college has been detained for allegedly trying to set his wife on fire in Greater Noida on Saturday.
According to the wife Suman, her husband Ashwini first thrashed her, then bound her and locked her up in the bathroom, before setting fire to the house. Suman was rescued by the neighbours who responded to her screams but the house was completely gutted. While the woman survived without any burns, the house was almost gutted, the police said. The accused has been arrested and taken into the police custody.
According to the police, neighbours of the couple saw smoke billowing out of the house and when they rushed in, they found Suman in the bathroom with her hands and feet tied. The neighbours managed to rescue Suman but not the house.
The police said that the couple had got married two years ago but their relations were strained from the very beginning and Suman stayed mostly in her parents’ home in Kanpur. She had returned to live with her husband about 10 days ago.
Suman alleged that her husband often demanded a car as dowry and would fight with her and even beat her up. The neighbours confirmed that the couple constantly bickered in the house. According to Suman, Ashwini and his brother had beaten her up on Friday night as well and finally she fell unconscious. On regaining consciousness, she found herself in the bathroom with her hands and feet tied.
Ashwini, meanwhile, has denied that he tried to set his wife on fire. He told the police that he had left for college early in the morning and therefore, could not have started the fire.
He said that Suman had set the house on fire to implicate him. The police said that they are verifying the allegations of the wife and also the claim of the husband in detail.