Indian woman 'set on fire' by police for refusing to pay bribe

Indian woman accuses police of setting her on fire after she refused to pay a 100,000 rupees bribe


Web Desk July 07, 2015
Senior police official Abdul Hameed (right) said they had begun an investigation PHOTO: BBC

A woman was killed in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday after accusing policemen of setting her on fire for refusing to pay a bribe.

Neetu Dwivedi, 40, told a magistrate and reporters that she had gone to the police station to meet her husband who had been held for questioning for a crime.

She added in her dying declaration that the policemen had asked her for a 100,000 rupees bribe.

Read: Woman stripped naked in Indian-held Kashmir

She further said that when she refused to comply, her attackers had abused and humiliated her, after which they set her on fire.

However, the accused policemen denied the charge and said that she had tried to set fire to herself. Mrs Dwivedi died on Tuesday morning in a hospital in Lucknow after sustaining 80% burns.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav has suspended the accused policemen and ordered an investigation to be carried out into the case.

Senior police official Abdul Hameed told BBC Hindi that the incident took place on Monday in Barabanki town.

Read: Police puzzled after student set on fire, dumped

Mrs Dwivedi's son, who is a journalist with a Hindi newspaper, has demanded justice as his "mother will only rest in peace when the guilty are punished".

In a separate incident a month ago, journalist Jagendra Singh was set on fire allegedly by some policemen in the state's Shahjahanpur district.

This article originally appeared on BBC

COMMENTS (2)

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