<![CDATA[A 31-year-old man was arrested by the Neyyar Dam police for the alleged murder of his wife, who was eight months pregnant at the time of the incident. The police identified the accused as Sunil, of Kuttichal. He was arrested in connection with the death of his 28-year-old wife Shaina, from Vithura. She was admitted at the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital on February 14 after suffering 80% burns in a fire, which was initially claimed to have occurred while she was cooking. She gave birth to a child two days later and succumbed to her severe burn injuries on February 21. While the incident was initially seen as a freak accident, the police began to suspect foul play after they found nothing that confirm of give support to the claims in the kitchen. However, traces of kerosene were found in an adjacent room. This was when a neighbor purportedly told the police that Shaina was set ablaze by her husband. But she did not want her husband to be arrested for the crime, keeping in mind the welfare of their three children. The couple has two other children, aged 8 and 4. Upon questioning, Sunil allegedly confessed to have committed the crime. The incident took place when he purportedly saw Shaina speaking to one of his friends, following which he assaulted her in an inebriated state. While the victim had poured the kerosene on herself to threaten Sunil, the accused allegedly lit a matchstick, setting his wife ablaze. The accused has been remanded to judicial custody.]]>
