SP leader, exlalit Kala Akademi VC allegedly set on fire by inlaws

VARANASI: Samajwadi Party leader and former state Lalit Kala Akademi vice-chairperson Sangeeta Yadav’s in-laws allegedly set her on fire at Bithuva Kala village in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur district on Monday, police said.

Doctors at the Jaunpur district hospital, where she is undergoing treatment, said Sangeeta suffered 40% burns and is in a stable condition.

Sangeeta told reporters that her mother-in-law called her to her room before she was set on fire. “As I entered the room, my mother-in-law poured kerosene on me after which my father-inlaw, Jaynath Yadav, set me on fire. I ran towards the bathroom to save myself. The wife of my elder brother-in-law extinguished the fire and took me to Badlapur government hospital,” she said. She was later referred to the district hospital.

Inspector Sunil Dutt of Badlapur police station, under whose jurisdiction Bithuva Kala comes, said Sangeeta’s father-in-law had been detained even as no formal complaint had been lodged immediately. “Sangeeta’s husband, Durgesh Yadav, is absconding and we are trying to trace him. We are waiting for the victim’s family to lodge a complaint after which we will take further action in the case,” he added.

Sangeeta, a popular folk singer in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, served as state Lalit Kala Akademi vice-chairperson under previous Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s government and was a minister of state. A police officer familiar with the case said Sangeeta, who is from Jaunpur’s Katahit village, married Durgesh in 2016. He quoted Sangeeta telling the police that her husband’s business was not going well.

“Sangeeta claimed her husband often had arguments with her and said she suffered a heart attack due to discord in the family,” he said.

“Sangeeta, who lives in Lucknow with her husband told us she had gone to her in-laws’ place three-day ago after her motherin-law called her,” he added.