It began as an ordinary Wednesday evening in Udhampur’s Housing Colony. Family members were busy with their routine chores when a scream tore through the house. It was Sushma Devi, crying for help.
Her family ran towards the sound and found her engulfed in flames. Even as the fire consumed her, Sushma, wife of Keshav Chopra, managed to tell them who she believed was responsible before she lost consciousness.
“When we rushed to her, Sushma was engulfed in flames. Before losing consciousness, she told us that Muksh had poured oil on her body and set her on fire,” her husband told reporters, still struggling to come to terms with what he had seen.
The man she named is her 27-year-old stepson, Muksh Verma, also known as Moksha Verma alias Pramoksha Verma. He is now in police custody.
Disturbing video of the incident has since surfaced. It reportedly shows Sushma running out of the house in flames, screaming for help. Neighbours rush to her aid and try desperately to put out the fire with whatever they can. Investigators are treating the clip as a crucial piece of evidence.
Sushma was rushed to District Hospital Udhampur. Her burns, covering around 80 per cent of her body, were so severe that doctors referred her to Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, after initial treatment. She fought for hours but succumbed to her injuries late at night.
Udhampur Police have registered a case and are questioning the accused to establish what drove the alleged attack. Early indications from local sources point to a dispute over family property or land, but police have not confirmed a motive, and the investigation is ongoing.
For a family that has lost a wife and mother and now faces the prospect of a son in the dock, the question that remains is how a quarrel over property ended in a death like this.
