Tamil Nadu woman sets herself on fire after husband abandons pet dog

A young woman on Thursday set herself ablaze allegedly upset over her husband abandoning her pet canine and its newborn puppy in a desolate area, police said.

Shanthi suffered about 85 per cent burns and is battling for life at a local hospital here in Namakkal District, they said.Deeply attached to her pet dog, she could not bear the trauma of being separated from it, police said.

The incident bringing to fore Shanthi's passion for dog came close on the heels of two medical students arrested for throwing a dog from the terrace of a building in Chennai.

The video of the act had gone viral, triggering condemnation from animal lovers and welfare activists.

"A dog lovingly reared by the woman was taken away and it was left in a desolate place by her husband," Paramathivellur Police Inspector Kumar said.

He said she set herself on fire as she could not bear the trauma of getting separated from her pet animal.

"The husband considered it as a nuisance when the dog gave birth to a puppy and he abandoned the mother and its new born in a desolate area," the police official said.

The woman is a mother of two children, he said, adding "no case has so far been registered we are inquiring".