Man who set ablaze panchayat office staff in Kerala dies

Kozhikode (Ker): A man, who set a 22-year-old woman on fire before trying to kill himself at a gram panchayat office here, succumbed to injuries from the burn on Saturday, hospital sources said.

Nandakumar (26), a native of Thikkodi, was under treatment at the hospital with critical burns.

Though the woman was rushed to the hospital after he set her afire by pouring petrol on her, she died.

According to police, Nandakumar attempted to end his life by setting himself ablaze, soon after the incident.

A postgraduate in computer science, the woman joined as a project assistant in the Panchayat only four days ago.

Both hail from the same place and believed to have known each other for some time, police sources added.