The deceased Pandi (42) of Periyar Nagar in Madipakkam used to work in a laundry. His wife’s name is Parvathy and the couple has two daughters studying in class-12 and class-7.

The family does not have a proper income for the last year due to the pandemic even as Pandi, who was addicted to liquor, used to spend more money on buying liquor. The couple used to quarrel often for the same reason and at times they assaulted each other with kicks and fisticuffs.

On Thursday evening, the couple started to quarrel and Pandi, after beating up his wife Parvathy, went to bed in an intoxicated condition. Police said an infuriated Parvathy took a bottle of petrol from the house and poured it on Pandi and triggered a fire. Police said Parvathy managed to come out of the house and locked the main door so that Pandi could not escape. The neighbours rushed to the spot and broke open the door and Pandi was taken to the KMC. They also caught Parvathy and handed her over to Madipakkam police station.

Initially, Parvathy told the police that Pandi had committed suicide but when the police recorded the dying statement, Pandi told the police that his wife poured petrol on him and triggered the fire. Pandi died without responding to treatment in the wee hours of Friday and Parvathy was arrested by the police. Further investigation is on, said police.