Sandhya Rani, a receptionist for a company in the Secunderabad area, was on her way home from work around 6.45 pm when Karthik came on a motorbike and stopped to speak to her. They had worked together about two years ago.
They were talking heatedly at the spot around 10 km from Hyderabad when Karthik suddenly pulled out a can and poured kerosene on Sandhya. He set her on fire and drove away before it could register on witnesses, the police say.
On spotting the young woman in flames and screaming on the road, people rushed to her and put out the fire. But Sandhya had suffered 60 per cent burns by then.
Karthik, the accused, had no job for past one year, said police.
She died in hospital this morning.
Investigations have revealed that Karthik had been chasing and harassing Sandhya for months.
He has reportedly told the police that she didn't reciprocate his feelings.
The police say they two were close in the past.
"Karthik had no job for the past year and had been drinking a lot. He had been harassing her, pressing her to marry him and quit her job," said senior police officer Sumathi.
The two had recently argued on the phone, when Sandhya had once again turned him down, the officer said.
