A 38-year-old woman and her two children were burnt to death in Kaimur district, around 240km southwest of Patna, late on Wednesday night, allegedly for her failure to give birth to a male child even after two decades of marriage

Police said Pushpa Devi and her daughters Nidhi Kumari, 8, and Priti Kumari, 4, were set on fire around 9pm on Wednesday, allegedly by her in-laws, at their house in Siswar village, around 16km from Kudra police station in Kaimur district. Neighbours tried to rescue the woman and the children, in vain.

Pushpa’s husband Manoj Soni, 45, and other members of the family fled after the incident.

Kudra police station house officer (SHO) Rajeev Ranjan said Pushpa’s in-laws were not happy with her as she had not been able to deliver a male heir. Her in-laws had even sought the help of a tantrik (sorcerer) to enable the woman to give birth to a male child. On Wednesday night, a fight broke out in the family over a domestic issue, which led to the murders.

The SHO said the burnt bodies of Pushpa and her daughters were recovered from the house and sent to the Bhabua sadar hospital for post-mortem.

“No member of the family was present in the house when a police team visited to take possession of the three bodies,” he told The Telegraph.

Pushpa’s parents, said to be residents of Robertganj in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, rushed to Bhabua sadar hospital where the bodies were kept.

Pushpa had earlier complained to her parents about ill-treatment meted out to her at her in-laws’ house. However, they tried to persuade Pushpa to stay on with her in-laws.

Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police Sudhir Rajak said Pushpa’s relatives alleged that she was assaulted by her in-laws before being set on fire. A complaint has been lodged on the basis of the statement given by Pushpa’s brother Santosh Soni.