Chennai: A call taxi driver attached to the Ola call taxi services allegedly burnt his wife alive in his car as she doused herself with petrol to threaten her husband following a family feud, in Nandanam on Sunday. The woman threw her two children out through the window as fire began engulfing her in the back seat of the car.
N Prema (28) was admitted with high degree of burns at the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital where she died on Sunday evening. In her dying declaration she said that her husband Nagaraj (30) set her on fire as she had doused herself with petrol.
Police said Prema married Nagaraj, a native of Chengalpet, five years ago after her first husband had deserted her and the couple were living in a house on Alaiamman Koil street in Teynampet with two children.
A police officer said, quoting Prema, “Nagaraj stepped out of the car as she was burning alive. She managed to throw her two children — Thisanth Raj (4) and Yashwanth Raj (2) — through the open window out on the road. The children are out of danger and they are admitted in KMC hospital.”
Based on the complaint of Prema’s mother Amaravathi, the Saidapet police registered a murder case against Nagaraj and detained him.
Nagaraj was employed as a driver of the Maruti Dzire car bearing registration number TN 07 CB 6307, attached to the call taxi service ‘Ola’. The car was owned by Prema’s sister husband. On Sunday, Prema was travelling in her husband’s car with her children in the back seat. Following a quarrel, Prema poured petrol on her body in a fit of rage. Her husband Nagaraj stopped the car near the First Extension of Lotus Colony in Nandanam.
Prema alleged that Nagaraj lit a match and threw it on her abandoning her inside the car. A police team rescued the children and detained Nagaraj.
