Woman sets house on fire to implicate stepbrother in land dispute, dies after getting trapped in flames

BAHRAICH: Police have arrested the husband of a 41-year-old woman who died in a house fire that was allegedly set up to frame relatives in a property dispute, officials said on Wednesday.The husband was among three people arrested in the case. Police had earlier also taken into custody the woman’s brother and nephew in connection with the incident that took place in Nooruddin Chak village.According to Superintendent of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava, the fire broke out on May 16 when a police team reached the spot after receiving an emergency call and found the house engulfed in flames.The victim, identified as Chanda alias Mahboobi, was rescued in a critical condition and first taken to the district hospital before being referred to Lucknow, where she later died due to severe burn injuries.Initially, on the basis of a complaint filed by her husband, a case was registered against her stepbrother and two nephews. However, during investigation, police claimed the case took a turn after evidence suggested a pre-planned conspiracy.Cops alleged that Chanda, who was embroiled in a property dispute with her stepbrothers, had conspired with her husband Rajeev to set the house on fire and falsely implicate her relatives.Police said CCTV footage showed Rajeev carrying a jerrycan and moving suspiciously around the house multiple times on the night of the incident.During questioning, Rajeev allegedly confessed that he and his wife jointly set the house on fire with the intention of framing her stepbrother and nephews. However, Chanda reportedly got trapped in the blaze and suffered fatal injuries.Officials also alleged that Chanda’s brother Shafi Ahmad and nephew Shami Ahmad delayed informing police after the incident, leading to their arrest on charges of conspiracy and failure to report the emergency.(With ANI inputs)