A 35-year-old woman burnt alive her drunken, abusive husband in Thiruverkadu on Sunday night.
Sakthivel, 39, a mason residing at Anbu Nagar, used to often quarrel with his wife Brinda, a vegetable vendor, in an intoxicated condition and accuse her of infidelity, according to police.
“On Sunday night, he came home drunk and started abusing Brinda. He also scolded their 15-year-old daughter. Hearing the husband and wife quarrel, a neighbour intervened. As Sakthivel had become violent, Brinda, her daughter and the neighbour pinned him down and tied his hands and feet,” the police said, adding that the family used to keep him tied till he became sober.
After tying Sakthivel up, the neighbour left while the couple’s daughter went to a relative’s house. Sakthivel continued to abuse his wife.
“Brinda seems to have lost control of herself on hearing the continuous abuse and poured kerosene over her husband, who was lying on the floor with his hands and legs tied, before setting him on fire. She then left the house leaving her husband to die of burns,” police said.
“When she returned, her neighbours told her about smoke coming out of the house. She opened the door and told neighbours that her husband had committed suicide by setting himself on fire,” the police said.
Brinda confessed to the crime on being questioned by the police and said that she decided to kill her husband because of the regular harassment and physical torture.