Man Allegedly Sets Girlfriend on Fire in Surat

Surat: A 24-year-old woman died after she was set on fire allegedly by her lover at a hotel in the city today.

The accused, identified as Shivkishor Shasan, 32, set his girlfriend Bhavna Maurya ablaze at Hotel Raviraj in Dumas area in the city following which she died, Sub-Inspector SD Salunke of Dumas police station said.

“Shasan and Bhavna had come to the hotel last night. Today they had a heated argument over their relationship, following which the accused started beating her and later set her on fire in a fit of anger,” he said.

The incident took place around 11 am, after which Shasan tried to escape from the hotel, but was caught by the hotel staff and later handed over to police, Mr Salunke said.

Shasan confessed to his offence and told police that he doubted Bhavna’s character and suspected that she was in a relationship with another man, Mr Salunke added.

According to preliminary investigation, the accused and the victim hailed from Valsad town. While the girl was a student of computer engineering, the accused took tuitions in Valsad.

Police recovered the body and collected circumstantial evidence from the crime spot, Salunke said, adding that the body was sent for post-mortem and a case registered against the accused under IPC section 302 (punishment for murder).

Further investigation into the case is on.