KOLLAM: In a shocking incident, a man tried to kill his estranged wife by setting her on fire in the middle of the road. Ezhukone native Aishwarya (26), who suffered severe burns, was admitted to the Kottarakkara Taluk Hospital and then to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital.

Aishwarya, a lawyer, is the daughter of Ezhukone native Ashokan and Shajila. The Kottarrakkara police have arrested Aishwarya's husband Kottathala native Akhilraj (30). The incident took place near Neduvathur Agro Junction on the national highway at around 2 pm yesterday.

Aishwarya got married to Akhilraj, a bank collection agent, in 2016 when she was an LLB student. After passing her LLB, she started practice in Kottarakkara court. Later, she joined LLM. Although Akhilraj forbade this, Aishwarya did not give in. She later approached the family court for divorce after noticing Akhilraj's excessive use of intoxicants. Aishwarya was in court yesterday for the case regarding the alimony. The court had ordered Akhilraj to pay for the expenses of his wife and 4-year-old son.

After coming out of the court, Akhilraj got involved in a verbal dispute with Aishwarya. He then followed Aishwarya on a bike. When Aishwarya realized that Akhilraj was following him, she stopped her scooter. However, Akhilraj, who had gone ahead, came back and beat Aishwarya to the ground. He then poured petrol from a bottle on her body. Although Aishwarya tried to run away, Akhilraj set her on fire by throwing a lighter at her. Aishwarya lay on the ground as her body caught fire. Seeing this, the locals rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire by pouring water and covering her body with cloth.

She suffered burns on her shoulder, face and hand. Locals then subdued Akhilraj and handed him over to the Kottarakkara police. Police found a bottle of petrol, pepper spray and chilli powder on the spot. Bindu, a tender coconut seller, suffered minor burns on her neck during the rescue operation. Police have booked Akhilraj for attempted murder. He was produced in court and remanded.