DADU, Oct 31: A retired policeman was set on fire by his relatives over a matrimonial dispute here on Monday.

Family members brought Fida Hussain Channa, 55, a resident of Workshop Mohalla, to Civil Hospital with burn injuries.

He told police that his brother, son-in-law and three other relatives sprinkled kerosene on his body and set him ablaze over a matrimonial dispute.

Fida Hussain was first taken to Civil Hospital, but the hospital referred him to the Liaquat University Hospital, Jamshoro, as 80 per cent of his body had suffered injury.

Tariq Azeem, a police official, said Fida Channa had alleged in his statement that his son-in-law Ahmed Khan, brother Mashooq, Lal Bakhsh, Khalid and Yasin tried to burn him to death.

However, the official said, the statement by Channa's wife had a different story to tell. She said her husband had tried to kill himself since he was unable to repay a loan and also because of the dispute over marriage.

Naeem, the son of Fida Hussain, said he had made a desperate attempt to save his father from the clutches of the five accused before they set him on fire. Naeem himself suffered minor burn injuries.— Correspondent