Gondia (Maharashtra), Feb 15 (IANS): In a shocking revenge over domestic brawls, a man sneaked into his in-laws home in Maharashtra's Gondia town and set it afire around 12.30 a.m. on Wednesday, killing his father-in-law, police said here.

According to the investigators, at that time, Devanand Meshram, 52, his daughter Arti K. Shende, 30, and his four-year-old grandson Jai were fast asleep in the house.

As per preliminary probe, Meshram's son-in-law, Kishore Shende, 35, allegedly reached their home in Suryatola area of Gondia, quietly poured petrol all around and set it ablaze before running away from the scene.

While Meshram sustained severe burns and suffocation which resulted in his death, his daughter Arti and her son Jai have suffered grievous burn injuries, said Gondia SDPO Sunil Tajane.

"The accused, Kishore Shende was absconding after the incident, but now we have caught him and he is in our custody. We have lodged an accident death report and are investigating further," Tajane told IANS.

Locals said that the accused Shende had been estranged from his wife Arti and their son Jai owing to frequent quarrels and assault by him.

Last year, fed up with the situation Arti along with her son deserted Shende's home and went to her father's place and they had been living there since.

Tajane said that the condition of the victim woman and her son is critical - with around 80 per cent burns - and they have been rushed to a Nagpur hospital for treatment after the primary treatment in a local hospital.

Apparently, Shende took advantage of the dark hour when there was nobody around in the dead of the night and the police are scanning for possible witnesses, besides waiting to record the statements of the two survivors before proceeding further.