A 28-year-old mother of two, allegedly set on fire by her husband, ran about 300 metres down Bakulbagan Road early on Sunday, seeking help. Kajal Mukherjee, the housewife, died in hospital.

Officers of Bhowanipore police station, out on a patrol, found Kajal lying on the road, near Puddapukur, around 1 am.

They took her to SSKM Hospital, where she died in the morning of complications due to 98 per cent burns.

Moments before her death, Kajal told police that her husband Biswajit had thrown a lighted match at her kerosene-drenched body “to help her commit suicide”. Biswajit, a 34-year-old priest, was subsequently arrested.

“We learnt from Kajal that the couple started quarrelling over money late on Saturday. They used to fight regularly, but unlike other days, matters reached a head. Kajal poured kerosene on herself and threatened to commit suicide. Instead of dissuading her, Biswajit lit a match and threw it at Kajal,” said a senior officer of the police station.

Biswajit married Kajal seven years ago and settled on Madhav Chatterjee Street, in the area. They have a six-year-old daughter, Mamon, and a four-year-old son, Babu.

Neighbours alleged that Biswajit often used to pick a fight with Kajal over money.

“It was very late and there weren’t too many people around when Kajal ran down the road with her body aflame. If people had seen her, they would certainly have helped. I can’t understand how a man who earns a living by serving God can set his wife on fire. He should be punished in an exemplary manner,” said Pragati Aich, who lives next to the Mukherjees.