Thane:
Both the victims, mother and unborn child, are battling for life at Sion Hospital. Momina Begum, 20, the mother, has suffered 90 per cent burns, and cops have notified her kin in Assam. Cops have registered a case of attempt to murder against the husband, Almin alias Sameer alias Saddam, who fled the spot after committing the crime.
According to the Ulhasnagar police, Saddam married Momina three years ago after they fell in love with each other. But since the past eight months, Almin started having an extra marital affair with a dance bargirl.
"In her statement, Momina told us that her husband is having an illicit affair with a bargirl, and he wanted to accommodate her in their house. Due to this there were frequent quarrels between them and the accused had even beaten her on several occasions," said Ravindra Mhatre, police inspector at Hill Line police station.
"As the wife began convincing Saddam to leave the girl, he in turn asked her to leave the house. She even informed him that she was seven months pregnant, and it would be impossible for her to find a suitable accommodation," said Mhatre. On Monday at around 2.30 am after another fight, Almin poured kerosene from the cooking stove on Momina.
Soon after the incident, Almin managed to flee from the spot while the neighbours rushed Momina to Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar. Yesterday, the victim was rushed to Sion hospital as her health started deteriorating. "They used to fight every night. He used to beat her every day and told her to leave the house," said Manoj Rao, a neighbour.