A woman whose husband allegedly tried to kill her as she could not bear him a child was rescued three days after being buried alive in a pit in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, police said Tuesday.
Hemantabala Mahata, aged about 25, was found alive by a villager when heavy rains washed away the loose top layers of soil covering the top of the pit she had been buried in, police superintendent R. Shiv Kumar said.
She is now recovering in hospital, according to police.
The incident took place in the far-flung tribal village of Hetgugui in the district of Purulia, about 275 kilometres (170 miles) west of the state capital Calcutta last week, he said.
"Hemantabala became unconscious after she was severely beaten and then strangled by her husband Ramesh Mahato and her parents-in-law," Kumar said adding the couple had been married for 10 years and were childless.
"They took her to be dead and buried her in the paddy field beside their hut," Kumar told AFP by telephone from the district town Purulia. To hide the crime, Mahata's husband buried the body instead of cremating it according to Hindu custom.
Mahata's husband and parents-in-law have been arrested and charged with attempted murder, Kumar added.