Kanpur: A 70-year-old disabled woman was reportedly burnt alive after a bonfire ignited her bedding at a brick kiln near the Oriyara intersection under Bidhnu police station on Thursday night.The deceased, identified as Kalawati, was unable to walk. Her husband, Balram Chauhan (72), had gone to a nearby market to buy essentials at the time of the incident. Originally from Bihar, Chauhan has been working as an accountant at the brick kiln for the past two years. He told police that he brought his wife to Kanpur around four months ago, where the couple had been living in a room at the kiln premises.On Thursday night, Kalawati was lying on a cot inside the room while a bonfire was burning in a metal basin nearby to ward off the cold. Chauhan said he stepped out to Madhavbag market when the bedding on the cot suddenly caught fire.Kiln workers noticed smoke coming out of the room and rushed to douse the flames. However, by the time the fire was brought under control, Kalawati had suffered severe burns and died on the spot. Bidhnu police station in-charge Tej Bahadur Singh said the fire was caused by sparks from the nearby bonfire, which ignited the bedding. A probe is on.
