Man burns wife alive, then self-immolates over suspicion of extra-marital affair

Vyara (Gujarat), May 11 In a shocking incident, a man set his wife on fire in the Valod Taluka Development office in Gujarat's Tapi district and then committed self-immolation, police said on Wednesday.

The incident happened on Tuesday evening. Both were charred to death within minutes.

A police complaint said that the man, identified as Amit Patel, suspected his wife, Mayurika, of having an extra-marital affair.

Police have sought call data records from the telecom service providers of the deceased couple for further investigation.

The complaint filed by the Taluka Development Officer Hardipsinh Gharia, said: "On Tuesday at around 3.30 p.m., Amit Patel entered the office with a bottle. Seeing her husband approaching, Mayurika, a computer operator with the MGNREGA wing, tried to run out of the office, but Amit caught her, poured some inflammable over her and then lit her.

"Another staffer, Kinjal Chaudhary tried to intervene, but she was pushed away by Amit. Afterwards, Amit poured the inflammable on himself also and self-immolated. Shocked at the happenings, the office staff tried to douse the blaze with a fire extinguisher, but it was too late. A doctor with the Emergency Medical Service ambulance declared the couple dead."

Gharia told that the whole incident took place within minutes, adding that he had no information about any dispute between the couple and Amit had never ever visited the office or quarreled with her during work hours.

Valod Police Sub-Inspector Nitin Kumar Panchal said a probe has been launched, adding that it was too early to comment on the issue since it occurred on the basis of suspicion.

The police have recovered one cell phone from the crime scene, which has been handed over to the FSL.

The FSL team have collected other evidence that will help to identify the inflammable.