A 30-year-old woman allegedly poured kerosene on herself and her two minor children and set herself and them afire at her house in Preet Vihar in Ghaziabad’s Muradnagar on Wednesday. Police said the mother and her two-year-old daughter died at the spot while her son (5) survived.

Police identified the woman as Deepa and her daughter Reena. Her son Lalit was rushed to a hospital for burns treatment. The incident took place about 4pm on Wednesday when Deepa’s in-laws were not at home and her husband Kailash Kumar had gone out for work.

“The woman, out of a domestic dispute with her husband, locked herself and her two children in a room and poured kerosene on herself and them. She then set all three afire. Her son somehow managed to unbolt the door and rushed out. In the meantime, neighbours in the locality also rushed to save the victims but they died on the spot due to severe burns,” Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, superintendent of police (rural), said.

According to sources, there was a fight between the woman and her husband over some issue and the husband had allegedly slapped her before leaving for his work. Kailash works at a handloom factory in Muradnagar, the police said.

“Lalit survived as he rushed out in time. He has been admitted to a hospital and is under treatment. He has suffered burns but is likely to survive. We are yet to get to the motive behind the woman taking such an extreme step. An FIR will be lodged once her parents arrive. The two bodies were sent for post mortem,” the SP added.

First Published: Jul 17, 2019 22:56 IST