The Bihar Police have booked a 30-year-old woman’s husband and in-laws for allegedly leaving her on a funeral pyre in an unconscious state, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday. The woman, identified as Lakshmi, has accused the family of torturing her and attempting to burn her alive.

The incident took place at the Saripur Ghat crematorium in Bhojpur district’s Sandesh village on Monday evening. A villager called the police after hearing groans from the pyre. The woman’s in-laws left her on the pile of dry wood as soon as they realised the police had been informed.

Awadhesh Kumar, the official in charge of the village police station, said they had recorded Lakshmi’s statement but she could not recollect how she was taken to the cremation ground. “She accused her husband and in-laws of beating her and harassing her ever since her marriage,” Kumar said. “We have booked them and are conducting raids to search for them.”

Lakshmi, a resident of Bachri village in Anadesh, told the police that she married Ravindra Thakur about 10 years ago. She accused Thakur of assaulting her at the slightest provocation from his parents. The police have admitted Lakshmi to a government hospital for treatment.