Hyderabad:
A man has been arrested for allegedly burning alive a 28-year-old woman, with whom he had had an "affair", and her two family members in the Anantpur district here, police said today.
The accused, Manjunatha, a weaver, allegedly poured petrol on the woman, Subbalakshmi, and her family members while they were asleep in their thatched house at Podaralla village in the Anantapur district on the night of March 11 and later set them on fire, they said.
Three persons including Subbalakshmi, her son Srikanth and her mother Kondamma who suffered severe burn injuries died while undergoing treatment at the Anantapur government hospital, a senior police officer said.
However, the condition of Subbalakshmi's father Nagamuni and another family member who suffered minor injuries was said to be stable, he said.
Subbalakshmi, along with her son, had reportedly been staying with her parents following the death of her husband six-years ago.
"Manjunatha allegedly had an illicit relationship with Subbalakshmi and had been trying to coerce her to transfer the one acre land she owned to his name. This led to frequent quarrels between them," said the officer.
A case of murder was registered against Manjunatha and he was taken into custody yesterday and sent to judicial custody today, the police officer added.