India: Drunk Man Sets His Wife on Fire over Too-Small Serving of Lamb

A 37-year-old Indian woman was killed by her husband last week after she allegedly served him too little mutton, or lamb, the Times of India reported Wednesday.

The man, identified as 38-year-old Maruti Sarode, a daily wage laborer from Nanded, reportedly carried out the attack in a drunken rage after being left unimpressed by his evening meal.

“The man got angry after his wife served less mutton in his plate while having dinner on the night of December 4th,” said Senior Inspector Balasaheb Tupe. “Maruti was in an inebriated condition when he set Pallavi on fire after pouring kerosene on her. The neighbors rushed the woman to DY Patil Hospital in Nerul.”

The woman was later moved to Sion Hospital, where she told the police what happened, before succumbing to her injuries on December 9th. She has left behind four children with her husband, who has since remained in police custody.

A similar case took place in India in May this year, when an enraged father murdered his pregnant 19-year-old daughter and left her 23-year-old husband to die by pouring gasoline on the couple and setting them ablaze over the fact they had an inter-caste marriage. Last year, a 22-year-old woman working in a beauty parlor was also burned alive by her lover after she refused to marry him.

India has gained an unfortunate reputation for its shocking levels of sexual and physical violence. According to a report from The Guardian last year, 42 percent of the country’s 650 million girls have been physically or sexually assaulted, while over 50 percent of males and females believe that there are times a woman deserves a beating.

The situation is so serious that a service launched in 2015 known as Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana (Save the daughter, educate the daughter) aimed at protecting women and ensuring that their fundamental rights are respected. The program also seeks to prevent gender-biased sex selective elimination, with many families deciding to undergo abortions on learning that the child will be a girl rather than boy.

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