Man Douses Wife With Gasoline, Sets Her Ablaze In Public After She Asked For A Divorce

A man has been accused of pouring gasoline on his wife and setting her ablaze by the side of the road, in full public view, after she reportedly asked him for a divorce in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India on Tuesday, July 5.

The accused, identified as Raees Khan, reportedly married his 22-year-old wife, Muskan Khan, three years ago in April 2019. However, Raees recently started suspecting his wife of having an affair with another man. The suspect allegedly became abusive and started regularly beating the victim over the unfounded cheating allegations.

After several instances of brutal domestic abuse, Muskan got fed up with the harassment, left her husband's house, and returned to her native village in Bhopal on March 18 earlier this year to live with her sister, the Times Of India reported.

Muskan then approached a family court to file a divorce against her husband and started working as a caretaker to support herself and start a new life. Khan, who was reportedly enraged after learning of his wife seeking a divorce, followed the victim to her home village. Confronting the victim, the man doused his wife with gasoline and set her ablaze in full view of the public. After burning his wife alive, Raees reportedly immediately fled the scene.

The horrifying incident was reportedly recorded by CCTV cameras located near the crime scene. In the horrifying footage, the 22-year-old victim can be seen being set on fire as she helplessly ran around shrieking for help from onlookers.

Bystanders quickly rushed to the poor victim's help and tried to douse the fire by scooping up water accumulated in potholes and pouring it on the victim. Meanwhile, other residents also came running with buckets of water from nearby homes and poured it on the victim to extinguish the flames. The woman, who suffered severe burns in the attack, was then rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Following the incident, the officers registered a case of attempted murder and are looking for Raees who remains at large.