22-year-old woman set ablaze by her stalker, Ibrahim, for refusing to marry him

A 22-year-old woman, Shabana Begum, working in a beauty parlour, was set ablaze in her house in Kumarwadi, Tappachabutra in Hyderabad, by her jilted lover, Ibrahim, for refusing to marry him.

Ibrahim, a resident of Barkas in Hyderabad, is married and has two children, but he was adamant on wooing Shabana Begum as his second wife. The two got to know each other on Facebook a year ago, but Shabana’s family was not keen on getting the two married as they learnt that he was already married. However, this did not go down well with Ibrahim.

On Saturday morning Ibrahim reached Shabana’s house and set her ablaze while immolating himself also. While Shabana succumbed to her injuries later in the day, Ibrahim, the accused who suffered 85 per cent burns, is battling for his life. Shabana’s sister-in-law, who was present there, suffered 65 per cent burns while trying to help Shabana.

“After dousing himself with kerosene, he entered the house, threw the fuel on Shabana and lit the match, Ibrahim and Shabana were engulfed in flames and the sister-in-law who tried to help them also suffered injuries in the process“, west zone DCP AR Srinivas said.

All three were rushed to Osmania hospital at 9 am. Osmania hospital superintendent Dr Nagendar said, “The chances of his survival is low. All three have suffered over 30 per cent burns; this brings down their chances of survival.” The doctor has also painted a bleak picture for Shabana’s sister-in-law’s survival as her burns are over 50 per cent.

Shabana’s brother while speaking to Times Of India said that his family had specifically asked Ibrahim to stay away from Shabana after they had refused to get the two married, but Ibrahim hell-bent on marrying her started harassing Shabana. The family also had lodged a police complaint in Tappachabutra police station six-months ago. Though he was warned by the police to stay away from Shabana, Ibrahim was persistently trying to convince her to marry him. Failing in his attempts Ibrahim resorted to this extreme step.

The Tappachabutra police have booked cases under 462 and 307 against Ibrahim for now.

In December last year, The Tribune had reported, Sandhya Rani, 24, a receptionist at a private company in Secunderabad, was set ablaze by a jilted lover in full public view. In November 2017, a 21-year-old BTech graduate was set ablaze by a former schoolmate in Chennai for refusing his marriage proposal.