A 42-year-old woman, Sarla Devi, became the victim of extreme cruelty by her in-laws after being burned alive on a pile of cow dung, reportedly because she was unable to have children, in a shocking incident in Deeg district, Alwar, on Tuesday afternoon, according to The Times of India.
District police confirmed that the in-laws, along with several villagers, attempted to burn Sarla and even attacked police officers who tried to intervene.
Sarla’s brother, Vikrant, in his police report, alleged that she had long faced harassment over her inability to conceive. He named her husband Ashok, married to Sarla since 2005, her father-in-law Sukhbir Singh, mother-in-law Rajwati, brothers-in-law Trilok and Raju, and sisters-in-law Pooja and Poonam as suspects.
Around noon on Tuesday, police received information that Sarla was being set on fire. When the officers arrived at the scene, villagers blocked them, chased them, and even assaulted the police personnel.
An additional police team led by senior officers eventually reached the site, recovered the body from the pyre, and took it to the Deeg District Hospital morgue. An autopsy was conducted before the body was handed over to Sarla’s family in the afternoon.
Additional SP AK Sharma stated, “Preliminary investigation suggests the suspects wanted to destroy evidence, hence their attack on police officers.” He added that further investigation is ongoing.
District Police Chief Om Prakash Meena said the case has been registered under charges of murder, evidence destruction, and assault on government officials.
Following the incident, Sarla’s in-laws and several villagers fled. Police have deployed additional teams in the area to continue the investigation and apprehend the suspects.
