Maharajganj: A local court has sentenced a 70-year-old woman to life imprisonment for setting her daughter-in-law on fire over dowry demands, officials reported on Wednesday.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the accused, Kaushalya, according to an official. 

The incident occurred on December 20, 2017, in Amodha, under the Gugli police station jurisdiction. 

On Tuesday, Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Srivastava sentenced Kaushalya to life imprisonment for killing her 23-year-old daughter-in-law, Arti Gaur, due to unmet dowry demands.

Additional District Government Counsel Santosh Kumar Mishra said as per the FIR, Kaushalya had was set Gaur on fire by pouring oil on her.

The victim’s father Jai Prakash Gaur had lodged an FIR against Kaushalya in this connection, Mishra said.

During the trial, nine witnesses were examined on behalf of the counsel and Mishra prayed before the bench for a life term to the convict in order to deter potential offenders from committing such crimes.

In a similar incidence, Seven family members were sentenced to life imprisonment for burning alive their daughter-in-law 13 years ago in Makdoom Nagar, under the Mahanagar police station in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.