Three individuals sustained burn injuries after a man set fire on his wife and her two relatives at Saturia upazila in Manikganj district on Friday.
The incident took place on Friday morning in Gaola village, confirmed Manbendra Balo, investigation officer of Saturia Police Station.
The victims are identified as Sharmin Akter, 30, wife of Hasan Ali from Rajapur village in Dhaka's Dhamrai Upazila; her aunt, Shirin Akter, 55; and her cousin, Rubel Hossain, 32, both from Gaola village.
Following the attack, the accused and Sharmin's husband Hasan fled the scene and remains at large, according to police reports.
Fire service personnel rescued the victims and initially took them to Colonel Malek Medical College Hospital and District Sadar Hospital in Manikganj. After receiving primary treatment, they were transferred to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka for advanced care.
Sharmin's uncle, Basu Mia, said that Sharmin and Hasan had been married for 10 years, but their relationship had been strained for several years due to family disputes. Hasan had physically abused Sharmin on multiple occasions. On Monday, Sharmin left her husband and returned to her father's house with their eight-year-old son.
On Friday morning, Hasan visited the in-laws' house and got into another argument with Sharmin. When she went to a nearby relative's home, Hasan followed her, entered the house around 10 AM, and attempted to set her on fire after pouring kerosene on her.
When her aunt Shirin and cousin Rubel tried to save her, Hasan doused them with kerosene as well, setting all three on fire. Despite neighbors' efforts to extinguish the flames, the victims were severely burned.
Inspector Manbendra Balo said, "No complaint has been filed yet, but preliminary investigations suggest that this attack stemmed from ongoing family duisputes between Hasan and Sharmin."
He added that legal action would be taken once a formal complaint is filed.
