In a shocking case from Kakra village in Rajasthan’s Deeg district, a 42-year-old woman named Sarla Devi was allegedly burnt alive by her in-laws, reportedly for not being able to bear children. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday afternoon, has led to serious charges including murder, destruction of evidence, and assault on public servants.
Sarla was married in 2005 to Ashok Kumar, a resident of the same village. She originally hailed from Raunija village in the Nagar police station area. According to her family, Sarla had been facing years of harassment due to infertility. Her brother, Vikrant, said in his complaint that Ashok frequently abused her, both physically and mentally.
“He used to beat her every day for not having children. We intervened multiple times, but it would only stop temporarily,” Vikrant said. “We didn’t even know they had started cremation. When we found out, we rushed to the village, but by then, the police had already taken her body to Deeg Hospital.”
Victim’s Half-Burnt Body Taken to Hospital
The woman’s half-burnt body was reportedly being taken for cremation when villagers raised suspicions and alerted the authorities. Police received a tip-off around noon, prompting a response team to reach the site. However, when officers attempted to stop the cremation, they were attacked by villagers who tried to prevent them from intervening.
“Villagers blocked our path, tore uniforms, and chased our team when we tried to stop the cremation,” said Khoh Station Officer Mahendra Sharma. The attack forced officers to call for reinforcements.
Senior officials, including Additional SP Akhilesh Sharma and SO Manish Gurjar, arrived shortly after with backup forces. The police managed to recover the body from the funeral pyre and transferred it to Deeg District Hospital, where it was kept in the mortuary. A medical board conducted the post-mortem later in the evening.
FIR Registered
Police have registered an FIR naming Ashok Kumar, his father Sukhbir Singh, mother Rajwati, brothers Trilok and Raju, and sisters-in-law Pooja and Poonam as the accused. Sarla’s family has directly blamed all of them for her death.
According to the police, the woman was allegedly burned in a pit of cow dung cakes (bitora) near her home—an apparent attempt to destroy evidence and present the death as a household accident.
“The primary probe suggests that the accused wanted to erase the evidence and therefore attacked the police party,” said Additional SP AK Sharma.
