KOTTAYAM: Two persons tragically lost their lives when a son-in-law set his mother-in-law on fire by pouring petrol following family-related disputes. Both son-in-law and mother-in-law died in the incident.
The deceased were Nirmala, 58, wife of Soman, a native of Anthyalam near Pala in Kottayam district and Manoj, 42, a native of Karinkunnam in Idukki.
According to police, the incident took place around 7.30 pm on Tuesday. Manoj had raised objections to his wife going out for work, leading to disputes within the family. Following this, the family filed a complaint against Manoj with police. On Tuesday night, Manoj arrived at his wife’s residence with his six-year-old son.
After a heated argument, Manoj poured petrol on Nirmala. In a desperate attempt to defend herself, Nirmala managed to grab the petrol can from Manoj and poured it on him, resulting in both of them sustaining severe burn injuries.
As intimated by the neighbours, the Fire and Rescue Forces rushed to the spot and took them to the hospital. Despite being rushed to the Government Medical College hospital in Kottayam, both Nirmala and Manoj succumbed to injuries in the early hours of Wednesday. The bodies will be handed over to relatives after post-mortem examination.