Forty-year-old Ibrahim, a resident of Barkas in Hyderabad, is married and has two children, but he was hell-bent on winning over Shabana Begum as his second wife. The two got to know each other on Facebook a year ago, but Shabana and her family rejected the proposal once they learnt about Ibrahim’s family. However, it did not go down well with Ibrahim.

On Saturday, at 8 am, Ibrahim reached Kumarwadi, Tappachabutra in Hyderabad, poured petrol on Shabana Begum and her sister-in-law Hazeena Begum, who came to Shabana’s rescue. “He then set himself on fire and ran towards the two women doused in petrol,” said N Anand, Station House Officer, Tappachabutra police. All three suffered life-threatening burns and were rushed to Osmania hospital at 9 am.

Shabana, who suffered 100% burns, passed away at 7 pm, while her sister-in-law suffered 65% burns. Ibrahim, the accused, suffered 85% burns.

Osmania Hospital superintendent Dr Nagendar said, “The chances of his survival is low. All three have suffered over 30% burns; this brings down their chances of survival.” The doctor has also painted a bleak picture for Hazeena’s survival as her burns are over 50%.

Shabana’s elder sister, when speaking to reporter Hameed from Sharp TV India, said, “Ibrahim first got introduced to Shabana on Facebook a year ago. He came with a marriage proposal, we initially accepted it but then we rejected the proposal after we found out that he was already married and had two children. When he started threatening us, we registered a complaint at the Tappachabutra police station. We had called people and have even talked to him many times, but the man was adamant about marrying her.”

Once the women started screaming when they were set ablaze, the neighbours rushed to put out the fire. The Tappachabutra police have booked cases under Section 462 and 307 of the IPC against Ibrahim for now.