Udaipur Court Sentences Man To Death For Burning Wife Over Skin Colour

The lower court in Mavli, Udaipur, has awarded capital punishment to a husband who heinously burned his wife to death. The accused had forced his wife to apply an acidic chemical, claiming it would make her skin fairer, and then set her on fire with an incense stick.

After a trial that lasted eight years, the Mavli Additional District and Sessions Court delivered its verdict on Saturday. Along with the death penalty, the punishment includes a fine of ₹50,000 and one year of rigorous imprisonment.

In its judgment, the court stated: “Such a heinous act cannot even be thought of in a civilized society. The accused should be hanged until death. What the accused did is not only a crime against his wife, Laxmi, but against the entire humanity.”

Government prosecutor Dinesh Paliwal said the court observed that the act of the accused was shocking and unforgivable. He further revealed that the victim, Laxmi, had stated that her husband, Kishanlal, often body-shamed her for her dark complexion and weight.

On June 24, 2017, around midnight, Kishanlal deceived Laxmi by forcing her to apply a chemical, claiming it would make her fair-skinned. Trusting her husband, she applied it to her body. Kishanlal then burned her with an incense stick, poured the remaining chemical on her, and fled the scene.

Her in-laws took her to the hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries after a few days.