LAHORE: A young married woman suffered critical burns when she was allegedly set on fire by her in-laws over a domestic issue in Shahdara on Wednesday.

In her statement to the media and the police at the hospital, 24-year-old Fauzia alleged that her in-laws set her ablaze after dousing her in petrol.

She said her husband worked abroad while she lived with her in-laws in Majeed Park.

Fauzia said she left her in-laws’ house over some domestic issue some time back and started living with her parents. On Wednesday, she said, her husband called her from abroad, asking her to go back to his parents and apologise to them for her mistake.

Following her husband’s direction, Fauzia said she returned to her in-laws house where her brothers-in-law Ikram and Javed and their sister Sehar and mother overpowered her and set her on fire after throwing petrol on her body.

According to the doctors involved in her treatment at a local hospital, Fauzia had suffered nearly 90 per cent burns and her condition was critical.

City Division SP (Operations) Ali Raza said apparently Fauzia tried to commit suicide following a row with her in-laws over some family issues. However, he said, the police lodged a case against the suspects on the victim’s complaint.

The woman’s in-laws had disappeared from their house shortly after the incident, he added.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2018