Bangalore, Oct 26: A woman was chased and burnt alive by her neighbours in full public view on Thursday night in Soladevanahalli. The fatal attack followed an argument over a clothes line which was obstructing a passage.
The deceased was identified as Ravikala (28), a resident of Janata Colony in Doddabele. Her brother Ravi Kumar was also attacked, said Soladevanahalli police.
Four neighbours, who were responsible for the act, are absconding.
Ravikala was a housekeeping staff at M S Ramaiah hospital. She married Narasimha Murthy, a car driver, and they have two sons — Prajwal (11) and Nitin (7). Her parents live with Ravi Kumar on the same lane, said the police.
Munithayamma Mundanappa and her children — Manjunath, Murali and Rupa — lived in a house behind Ravikala's. There was a small passage between their houses, which Munithayamma's family was compelled to use.
Ravikala and Munithayamma developed differences after the former tied a rope along the passage to dry clothes.
Matters escalated after Ravikala turned down Munithayamma's request to remove the clothes line as it obstructed entry to her house. They used to have frequent quarrels, said the police.
Sources told Deccan Herald the families often threatened each other. Around 8:30 pm on Thursday, Munithayamma hurled a volley of abuses at Ravikala after finding it difficult to cross the passage.
She threw some clothes on the ground and asked Ravikala to remove the rope, but Ravikala refused.
Soon, a large number of locals gathered near the house. But they did not intervene as such face-offs were regular.
Munithayamma then called her three children, and the four started thrashing Ravikala. Ravikala's children Prajwal and Nitin ran to Ravi Kumar's house to inform him about the incident.
Meanwhile, Munithayamma and her children poured kerosene on Ravikala.
As Ravi Kumar ran to his sister's rescue, he was attacked with a wooden plank.
The assailants then chased Ravikala inside her house and set her ablaze, said the police.Both Ravikala and her brother were rushed to a hospital, where Ravikala was declared brought dead.
The police have booked Munithayamma, Manjunath, Murali and Rupa for murdering Ravikala and attempting to murder Ravi Kumar.
Two special teams have been formed to arrest them.
“There are definite clues and we will arrest them shortly,” Sandeep Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) said.
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