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Assam woman who attended Rahul Gandhi event allegedly burnt to death by husband

The woman had apparently kissed Rahul Gandhi during a public interaction as part of his recent trip to Assam.

A 35-year woman who had apparently kissed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi during a public interaction as part of his recent trip to Assam was allegedly burnt to death by her husband following a quarrel over the incident. The woman belonged to a panchayat under Titabor Assembly constituency represented by none other than Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

However, the police only confirmed that the woman had attended Rahul Gandhi?s interactive session on women?s empowerment a day before she was killed.

Bonti Chutia, a panchayat ward member from the Congress party under Titabor sub-division in Jorhat district, sustained severe burn injuries on Wednesday leading to her death in the Assam Medical College Hospital in Dibrugarh a day later. Local reports said she had picked up a fight with her husband Someswar Chutia over the reported kissing of Rahul Gandhi, after which he allegedly set her up on fire by pouring kerosene.

?The woman died due to severe burn injuries. But we do not have any report about whether her husband had set her afire. There are no complaints to this effect either. Moreover, we have checked the video of Rahul Gandhi?s interactive session and found that she was nowhere close to him throughout the function,? Kulendra Deka, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Titabor told The Indian Express over the telephone.

At least two women had kissed Rahul Gandhi during his interactive session with women in Jorhat on Wednesday, one on his right cheek and another on his forehead following which his personal security prevented other women from getting closer.

The SDPO said the woman?s husband too was battling for life in the AMC Hospital in Dibrugarh after sustaining over 60 per cent burn injuries. ?While the woman could not make any statement before her death, her husband too is not a state to give any statement. His condition is very critical,? SDPO Deka said.

The police officer, however, said neighbours had said Bonti had picked up a fight with her husband after reaching home late on February 26. One report quoted Bekajan panchayat president Sanjay Reban as saying that her husband took strong exception to her returning late from Rahul Gandhi?s meeting in Jorhat, about 15 kms from her village. Bonti and her husband however were burnt on Thursday afternoon.

– By Samudra Gupta Kashyap

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First published on: 01-03-2014 at 13:41 IST
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