Valsad, Gujarat: A man and his daughter allegedly tried to dispose of the body of his wife, who had died due to ill health, by burning it in the balcony of their house on Malavyaji Road here, police said.

Cops, who said that the body was burnt after cutting it into pieces, suspect that the act could be a part of some blind faith.

The incident came to light yesterday night after the neighbours complained of fire in the house of one Magan Rana (72), who lived with his wife Savita (70) and daughter Kaushal (44), they said.

According to police, the father-daughter duo initially said that they had burnt the body of their cat, which had died on their bed.

However, during further probe, Magan revealed that the burnt remains were of his wife Savita, who had died on January 29 after prolonged illness.

Forensic experts were called to verify if the burnt remains of flesh were that of an animal or of a human being. They confirmed that it belonged to a human being, police said.

The remains have been sent for post-mortem to ascertain if the death was natural or not, police said, adding that the further course of investigation would be decided based on the autopsy report.

Tags: Man burns wife's body, Man cuts wife's body