US EditionUdaipur: Death penalty for Indian man who burnt alive wife over skin colour
Kishandas was sentenced to death for a crime deemed "rarest of the rare," highlighting the severe consequences of colourism and domestic violence in India.
- On Saturday, the Additional District and Sessions Court in Vallabhnagar sentenced Kishandas to death and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 for burning his wife alive.
- Victim statements say Kishandas routinely taunted Lakshmi for being dark skinned, and the attack happened on the night of June 24, 2017 in Navaniya village, Udaipur district.
- Prosecutors showed that the attack involved a ruse using a 'skin‑lightening' chemical and he deceived Lakshmi with a brown liquid, then set her on fire with an incense stick as she burned.
- Judge Rahul Choudhary wrote, `It will not be an exaggeration to say that this heart-rending brutal crime was not just against Lakshmi, but it's a crime against humanity`; public prosecutor Dinesh Paliwal called the order 'historic' and defence lawyers said they would appeal.
- The verdict has renewed debate over India's preference for fair skin, with campaigners challenging the 'fairer is better' bias amid concerns that last year one in three women faced intimate-partner violence.
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When it was bad, Lakshmi began to be insulted by her husband because of her dark skin. A man just covered her with a product that would be to clarify her skin, but that she was acidic and burned alive.
"The death penalty hasn't been carried out since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. It's highly unlikely that it will happen again," says correspondent Devi Boerema.
Husband who burned wife alive because her skin was 'too dark' sentenced to death - The Mirror
WARNING - DISTRESSING DETAILS: A court heard that the tragic woman was a victim of colourism, a form of discrimination that favours light-skinned members of the same ethnic group
A court in India condemned the death penalty of a man who burned his wife because of the color of her skin. The victim, Lakshmi, declared before her husband, Kishandas, “a takina constantly because she had her skin closed in color”, reports BBC.
Dnevni list Danas
vijesti.meLakshmi was murdered in 2017, and she said her husband constantly mocked her because of her darker skin tone. In India, women with lighter skin are more respected.
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