Police are gathering details near the crime scene in Mahabubabad. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
A 28-year-old married woman was set on fire by a man after she rejected his proposal in Mahabubabad on Tuesday afternoon (February 17, 2026).
The accused, identified as 40-year-old Kunta Anjaiah, who runs a milk shop at YSR Junction, was in a relationship with a woman, V. Sandhya alias Manjula. Police said she had been running a vegetable cart outside his shop for the past three years.
According to Mahabubabad City Inspector Mahendar Reddy, the accused was a widower while the woman was married. Anjaiah had three children and his wife died, while Sandhya had two children and had been living separately from her husband for the past three years following a family dispute.
She moved to Mahabubabad with her children and earned a living by selling vegetables.
The official said the two had been seeing each other for the past three years. However, Anjaiah reportedly started suspecting that Sandhya was in touch with another person and accused her of ignoring him. He warned her not to meet anyone else and asked her to marry him.
Preliminary investigation suggests that on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) around 1:30 pm, Anjaiah went to Sandhya’s residence in Pragathi Nagar Colony and set her on fire. He then allegedly hugged her, resulting in both of them suffering severe burns.
The injured were initially taken to the Government Hospital in Mahabubabad and later referred to the Government Hospital in Warangal for further treatment. Both are said to have suffered about 70% burns and remain in a critical condition.
A case has been registered and further investigation is underway.
Published – 18 Feb 2026 09:28 IST