HYDERABAD: An accused in the murder of his wife, who set himself ablaze in the Maheshwaram police station on Sunday, succumbed to burns on Monday, leading to protests by relatives in front of the police station.Mohammed Madar Pasha (30), a tractor driver from Nagaram village in Maheshwaram mandal was accused of killing his wife Zarina Begum. According to police, Madar, a habitual drunkard, used to harass his wife suspecting her character. "On August 8 when Madar returned home at night, he found a person coming out of the house and picked up a quarrel with his wife suspecting her character,'' Ibrahimpatnam assistant commissioner of police T Rama Prasad Rao said. Minutes later, Zarina Begum allegedly set herself ablaze and was shifted to a hospital where she succumbed to burns on August 12. "In her dying declaration, Zarina alleged that her husband set her ablaze. Her parents also gave a similar complaint against Madar,'' the ACP said. Cases under Section 302 (murder) and 498A (subjecting a married woman to cruelty) were registered against Madar.Summoned by police, Madar along with his two relatives came to police station on Sunday morning. "Madar was in a highly depressed state and was talking abnormally. We sent him away asking his relatives to take him to a hospital. They took him to a private hospital at Shamshabad where doctors gave him some tablets,'' the ACP said. Around 5 p.m, Madar was brought back to the police station. "They were apprehending an attack on Madar by relatives of Zarina and wanted him to stay in the police station and left to get some food for him,'' Rama Prasad Rao said, adding that his in-laws even tried to attack him after the funeral of Zarina.Madar was asked to stay in the constable's rest room where he had access to a kerosene can. "The kerosene can was seized from a person Gopal, who attempted suicide during survey by a government department. He was demanding compensation for his land. We registered a case against Gopal and seized the can,'' the ACP said, adding the can was in a Bell of Arms.Police suspect Madar pulled the can out with help of a stick. "He set himself ablaze inside the room and ran out. The head constables and constables managed to douse the flames and shifted him to Osmania General Hospital," he said. Following Madar's death, his relatives and locals staged a protest in front of the police station alleging police excess.The police, however, said that Madar's death is not a custodial death. "He was not taken into our custody when he set himself ablaze. He just committed suicide in the police station,'' Rama Prasad Rao said.Reacting to the incident, Cyberabad police commissioner Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao ordered an inquiry into the death by a police officer not attached to Ibrahimpatnam police. Shamshabad ACP Ch Srinivas Rao would be investigating the case.
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