A man has been sentenced to death for burning his wife alive because he was dissatisfied with her skin color.
Before her death, Lakshmi, who was in her 20s, had revealed that her husband, Kishandas, often mocked her for having dark skin, calling her “kali” (a derogatory term) and ridiculing her appearance since their marriage in 2016.
A district judge in Udaipur, Rajasthan, described the case as one of the rarest of the rare, labeling it a crime against humanity.
The brutal killing, which happened eight years ago, shocked the nation and drew widespread attention.
The horrific attack took place on the night of June 24, 2017. On that night, Kishandas carried a plastic bottle containing a brown liquid, which he claimed was a skin-whitening remedy for his wife.
According to court documents, the accused smeared the chemical—believed to have an acidic odor—on Lakshmi’s body before setting her on fire.
“As her body caught flames, he poured the remaining liquid on her and fled the scene. Lakshmi’s in-laws rushed her to the hospital, but she was pronounced dead,” the judgment stated.
