In a bizarre incident that took place in Hyderabad, an unemployed man set his wife on fire on Sunday night after she failed to crack MBBS entrance exam for the third time in a row.
The victim who has been identified as 25-year-old K Harika was first strangled by her husband and then set ablaze at their Rock Town Colony residence near Nagole on the outskirts of the city.
Though the husband, 26-year-old K Rushi Kumar has said Harika had committed suicide, the investigators doubted the claim. In fact, Harika's parents also felt something was amiss.
"The dead body was sent for autopsy and based on the report, we can come to a conclusion about the cause of death," LB Nagar assistant Commissioner of police P Venugopala Rao
said.
Harika's parents have now alleged Rushi had been harassing their daughter for quite a long time
The accused, who has a B Tech degree, is unemployed. Kumar had tied the knot with Harika, his cousin two years ago. But the relationship was strained.
"The relationship between the two was strained from the very start, with Rushi constantly pestering Harika to bring more dowry. The accused also wanted her to become a doctor, so he could live comfortably on the money she earned," Rao told Hindustan Times. He added Kumar even threatened to divorce Harika if she failed to secure an MBBS seat.
Fed up of the harassment, Harika started living separately while she was preparing for the exam.