Mumbai: A 31-year old Chembur resident who was accused of pouring kerosene and setting his wife on fire with a matchstick has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court.
According to the woman's dying declaration, the accused Bilal Shaikh attacked her after the neighbours had tried to intervene and then left, a leading daily reported. She said that he poured kerosene on her, and then lit her with a matchstick and asked her to die following which he locked the house door from outside. He came to rescue her only after she kept screaming in pain and begged for him to come back. After this, he put a blanket on her to extinguish the fire and took her to the hospital.
The victim, Hayat, had sustained 98% burns and had described that the fight had started over his unemployment. She had also been declared mentally sound by a doctor in the presence of the cops, an independent witness and the doctor deeming her statement to be valid.
The court said that no stove was found at the spot and the key of the room was with the accused, and that the sub-inspector opened the door after taking the key from the accused. The accused was also found guilty of torturing his wife for dowry. And according to the Hayat's brother, Hayat had allegedly come to her parents’ house two days prior to the incident and told her family members that Bilal tortured her and asked her to bring money from her parents. He also mentioned that Bilal wanted to buy a new house.
He also told the court that Hayat accused her sister-in-law of asking her to leave the house, which could've been due to her fondness to his first wife. Bilal had married Hayat in 2015, without telling her that he already had a wife and a daughter. At the time of marriage, he was given Rs 50,000 along with a gold ring.
