A 25-year-old woman died on Sunday, 10 days after her sister-in-law allegedly set her afire in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, police said.
The victim had recently given birth to a baby girl, which had made the accused, who is her husband's divorced sister, upset as she thought that the family members would stop loving her own daughter now, they said.
Police have arrested the 35-year-old accused, Kanta Sanjay Rathod, an official said.
The victim, Monica Pawar, was a resident of Pandharkawda tehsil in Yavatmal, who used to live in a joint family along with her sister-in-law Kanta, a divorcee, he said.
According to the victim's aunt, who is the complainant in the case, her niece had married Ganesh Pawar six years back and they have five-year-old son and a 12-day-old daughter. There were frequent arguments between the victim and the accused.
On July 8, days after giving birth to her daughter, the victim caught fire and was admitted to Sevagram hospital in Wardha, police said.
"However, the complainant told the police that her niece had told her in the hospital that her family members were very happy after the birth of her daughter, but her sister-in-law was upset as she thought her own daughter would not get love from the family after that. Hence, on July 8, the accused threw oil on the victim and set her on fire. The victim did not remember what happened next," the official said.
The complainant also told the police that she did not lodge a complaint as the victim was undergoing treatment in the hospital. However, she did so after her death on Sunday morning, he added.
Police have arrested the accused and investigation into the case is on.
