A 27-year-old man, who was allegedly set on fire by the woman with whom he was in a relationship and her family members in Nashik district of Maharashtra, died due to burn injuries, police said on Monday, adding that five persons have been arrested.
The victim, Gorakh Bachhav, was attacked in Lohoner village in Devla taluka on February 11. He died at the Nashik district hospital late Sunday night, an official said.
As per the preliminary investigation, Bachhav was in a relationship with the 23-year-old woman but her family members were against their marriage.
"However, they couldn't find a suitable match for the woman and suspected that Bachhav was creating obstacles in her marriage. On February 11, the woman's family members called Bachhav for a meeting in Lohoner village," the official said.
He said a heated argument broke out during the meeting following which the accused attacked Bachhav with iron rods and sticks.
"To save himself, Bachhav ran inside a nearby mobile phone shop but they chased him there and hit him on his head with an iron rod. After he fell unconscious, the woman and her family members poured petrol on him and set him afire as passersby watched in horror," the official said.
Bachhav was rushed to the Devla rural hospital and then shifted to Nashik district hospital for further treatment.
The official said two of the five accused are women. They all are residents of Rawalgaon in the neighbouring Malegaon taluka.
A murder case has been registered and further investigation is underway.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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