Love song provokes woman to set herself ablaze

Jalandhar, Feb 19 (IANS) A woman set herself ablaze to prove her love to her husband after being influenced by a love song on a television channel.

Manju, a 23-year-old resident of Punjab's Banga town, 50 km from here, was admitted to the civil hospital here with over 90 percent burns. Doctors said Tuesday that her condition was critical and she had little chance of survival.

After watching the song on TV Saturday night, Manju told her husband Satnam Singh that she loved him very much. When Satnam asked what she could do for him, she suddenly brought kerosene, poured it on herself and set herself on fire.

'I tried to save her but she got badly burnt,' Satnam, who also suffered burns, told the police.

Satnam, who runs a photography shop in Phagwara town, said that he rushed his wife to the Banga government hospital but doctors did not cooperate, saying it was a police case.

'It was only after the magistrate came to record her statement at midnight that some arrangement was made to shift her to Jalandhar,' Satnam said.

Though the police suspected foul play in the incident, Manju told the magistrate in her statement that she took the step to prove her love for her husband.