A 21-year-old woman took revenge on her boyfriend, who rejected her proposal to marry her, by drugging him and setting him ablaze at a lodge in Cottonpet, the police said. Shruthi killed Mansoor, 27, a tea seller and a native of Kerala, by pouring petrol over him and setting him afire on December 2. She made him drink juice laced with sleeping tablets, before setting him on fire, police said. 

A native of Kuvempunagar in Mysuru, Shruthi was residing in a paying guest accommodation at Jalahalli, Bengaluru. She joined a pharmaceutical company near Lalbagh after dropping out from a paramedical course two years ago. Mansoor used to spend all the money earned by her for himself.

While Shruthi was studying, she used to visit her parents in Mysuru every week. She used to board and alight at the Mysuru train at the city railway station, where she first met Mansoor. Both of them became friends and soon started having an affair. Shruthi quit studies and started working to support Mansoor. They used to spend time together in private lodges.

A senior police officer said, five months ago, Shruthi became pregnant and asked Mansoor to marry her. “Mansoor told her that he would do so, only if she opts for an abortion and she obliged. But he started ignoring her and would call her up only when he wanted to spend time with her. Shruthi was pestering him to marry her, but Mansoor kept refusing. She realised that Mansoor was using her only for pleasure and money,” the officer said. 

On November 27, Shruthi asked Mansoor to book a room. “They went to a lodge in Cottonpet. She again asked him to marry her and there was an argument. The next morning, Shruthi went to a hotel, ordered two masala dosas and a bottle of soft drink. She then went to a fuel station and bought two litres of petrol. The woman then purchased sleeping pills from a medical shop. She mixed the pills in the drink,” the officer said.

Shruthi went to the room and made Mansoor have the soft drink. When he fell unconscious, she poured the petrol over him, set him afire and hid herself in the bathroom. The lodge staff noticed smoke and broke into the room. They shifted Mansoor to Victoria Hospital. Shruthi told the staff that Mansoor tried to commit suicide, when she went for a shower. The staff alerted the police.

On December 2, Mansoor succumbed to injuries and a complaint was registered. During questioning, Shruthi confessed to killing him. Abandoned by dad Shruthi’s father had abandoned them her and her mother as the latter was blind. She had to take up a job during studies to support her mother.