A woman sustained burn injuries after being tied to a tree and set on fire allegedly by her husband's younger brother at Baghjhapa village in Kashiani upazila of Gopalganj on Tuesday.
The injured is Sufia Begum, wife of Yusuf Ali Mollah.
She was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition after first treating at Kashiani Hospital.
Sufia told journalists while being admitted at Kashiani Hospital: “My husband Yusuf Ali Mollah, a retired policeman, had been in dispute over land with his brother Liaquat Mollah, who is also a retired policeman, for a long time. Liaqat sold his share of ancestral property and left the village. Even so, he still claimed the ancestral property. This resulted in dispute between my husband and brother-in-law.”
She also said: “Liaquat and my other brother-in-law Abdur Rahman's son Sohail came to our house on Tuesday around 11am. At that time, I was alone at home. They dragged me out of the living room and tied my hands and feet to the guava tree in the yard and set fire to my body and ran away.”
Later, the locals rescued her and took her to the hospital, she added.
Her husband Yusuf said that he was not at home during the incident.
He added: “Liaquat had earlier cut my wife's hair.”
Dr Aminul Islam, resident medical officer of Kashiani 100-bed hospital, said that the patient's condition is alarming. Her whole body is burnt. She has been referred to Dhaka for better treatment.
Kashiani police station officer-in-charge Feroz Alam said that the accused ran away from home after the incident. An operation is underway to arrest him.