24 January,2011 12:50 PM IST | | Agencies
Police in New Zealand have alerted the Interpol to trace the husband of an Indian-origin woman who was allegedly burnt to death last week in that country, a media report said.
According to the police, the husband of the victim, identified as Ranjeeta Sharma (28) have fled to Fiji, where the couple came from, along with their four-year-old son on Friday, a day after her body was spotted burning by the side of an isolated road near Huntly, the Waikato Times reported.
The police said that the couple's car was recovered at Auckland airport. Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall said the focus was now on finding her husband, whom police were yet to name.
"He is considered a person of considerable significance to the investigation and we are working with Interpol to locate and speak to him. We are also working with overseas authorities to establish the wellbeing of the young boy and ensure his safety," he said.
Keall confirmed police were executing search warrants at a number of addresses over the next few days in the South Auckland area. The police have also appealed for sightings of the victim's car, a silver Subaru station-wagon registration FSD 433 in the South Auckland and Huntly-Rotowaro areas on Thursday or Friday.
The police had earlier confirmed Sharma was still alive when she was set alight and forensic tests had confirmed an accelerant was used. The police would not, however, comment on whether the case was a 'bride burning', or honour killing, a form of domestic violence practised on the Indian subcontinent when a victim had brought shame on the family, the report said.
