Pregnant Woman Burnt To Death By Family Over Inter-Caste Marriage

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A woman has died and her husband is battling for his life, after they were set ablaze allegedly by family members who were opposed to their inter-caste marriage

Mangesh Ransingh (23) and his 19-year-old wife Rukmini who was 2 months pregnant, were reportedly immolated on May 1st by three family members on the bride’s side. The attackers included the woman’s own father.

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RT reports: Things turned violent when Ransingh came to pick up his wife from a visit to her family’s house in a village just a few hours from Mumbai on May 1. The family reportedly refused to release Rukimi, at which point Ransingh got into a fight with two of Rukmini’s uncles and her father. The three men then allegedly assaulted the young couple before dousing them in kerosine and setting them ablaze.

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“They tied up the couple and set them on fire inside the house, locked it and left. Some people saw the smoke and broke open the door,” Ransingh’s brother told reporters. The two were taken to a nearby hospital, but the young woman’s injuries were already too severe and she died shortly after arriving. Ransingh himself was severely burned, and is still fighting for his life.

Before she died, Rukmini managed to name her father and two uncles as the ones responsible for burning her and her husband, according to local media. Her two uncles have been arrested and will face murder charges; police say they are still on the hunt for the father.

Rukmini’s family was opposed to the marriage because the two came from different castes, and had even refused to attend their wedding, according to Ransignh’s brother. Ransignh was a Lohar which is traditionally an artisan class, where as Rukmini came from the “untouchable” Pasi class and had worked as a domestic servant.