The injuries were critical burns sustained by an elderly woman who was supposedly raped and burnt by her son in the Bhadrak district of Odisha, according to the police.
The event occurred in Galaganda village of Tihidi police limits.
The offender was Debashish Nayak (45), a substance abuser, who ran away the location upon allegedly setting his mother on fire, police said.
Preliminarily, Debashish had requested his mother, Jyotsnarani Nayak (65), to give him money to get liquor. He supposedly assaulted her when she denied him. Police quoted nearby residents saying that after she fell, he poured petrol on her and burnt her.
When neighbours came to the scene on hearing her scream the accused fled before they could be arrested, Tihidi police station in-charge Satyabrata Graharaj said.
Her condition deteriorated, and the woman was transferred to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, after being taken to Bhadrak District Headquarters Hospital, but then transferred.
Having fights between Debashis and his mother is the order of the day. However, we had not thought that he would burn his mother when she refused to provide money to purchase liquor, neighbour Subrata Nayak alleged.
