In a chilling incident, a man killed his wife by setting her on fire for failing to give birth to a son in the Kamokia area of Punjab’s Gujranwala district, Aaj News reported on Saturday.

According to the report, the accused man, Ateeq, married the 25-year-old victim five years ago, and the couple had two daughters.

After the birth of the second daughter, domestic disputes became commonplace as the husband demanded a male heir. The deceased woman's in-laws would berate the victim for giving birth to daughters, the report added.

The victim gave birth to a third daughter four months ago after which relations between her and Ateeq and his family hit a new low.

Following another quarrel over the same issue earlier today (Saturday), the man doused his wife in petrol and set her on fire, killing her on the spot.

Police arrived on the scene after receiving information about the incident and sent the body for post-mortem.

Meanwhile, the husband and his family escaped after killing the woman; the police add that they are conducting raids to apprehend them.

Report: Muhammad Shafiq Mughal