Woman's death from burns sparks dowry allegations

A 22-year-old woman was burnt alive at Balarampallli village in Odisha's Ganjam district with her mother alleging she was killed for dowry, police said today.
The deceased, identified as Pramila Sahu, sustained 80 per cent burns in the incident yesterday and succumbed at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here, they said.
Pramila's mother Manjula has lodged a police complaint, alleging that her daughter was set ablaze for dowry. "Her in-laws tortured her for dowry. We suspect they poured kerosene and set her on fire," she said.
Pramila married Subash Sahu (25), a daily wage labourer of Kukudakhandi, in February, police said.

Subash refuted the dowry allegation. "My wife committed suicide. I also sustained burns while trying to save her. There was no one in the house at the time of the incident," he told police during interrogation.
Subash is also undergoing treartment at the MKCG hospital, said Inspector In-Charge of Berhampur Sadar police station A K Sethi. "The body has been sent for postmortem. We will proceed with the investigation after getting the autopsy report," the IIC added.
On Saturday, a 21-year-old woman of Dakhinapur succumbed to burn injuries at the MKCG. She was identified as P Sujata Reddy. She suffered 80 per cent burns while cooking. "We have not received any complaint," said IIC of Digapahandi police station S K Patnaik.