NRI woman set herself and her kids afire

Washington, Aug 15 (UNI) A 32-year-old Indian-American mother killed herself, her four-year-old son and 18-month-old daughter by setting her house on fire this weekend in the Chicago suburb of Naperville.

The woman, identified as Nimisha Tiwari, poured gasoline around the room where she was sleeping with her son Vardaan and daughter Ananya. With the front door of the home debolted shut, she set it on fire. Soon, the room was engulfed in flames, fatally injuring her and her children.

The deaths have been ruled as 'double murder suicide' by police on Monday. Surveillance video from a gas station, near Ms Tiwari's home in Naperville's Cinnamom Creek subdivision in Chicago, showed that she purchased a container of gasoline on the day of the fire, according to the Naperville Sun, published from Chicago.

''We do not know the motive for such a horrific incident,'' said Naperville Police Chief David Dial during a news conference in which he described the Saturday's fire that killed Ms Tiwari and her kids adding that no suicide note was found.

All three victims were alive when the fire started. About two hours later, the three bodies were found in the flames in the master bedroom of the home. The gas can was found next to the bed and a lighter was lying next to Ms Tiwari's body. Police believed she had poured gas outside the bedroom door, on the floor in the room, and possibly on herself before igniting the blaze, Mr Dial added.

''There is nothing to indicate that this is anything more than a double-murder suicide investigation, a very tragic situation between the mother and her two children," Mr Dial was quoted by the Chicago Tribune, as saying .

There were no stab or gunshot wounds or signs of abuse on any of the bodies, he said, adding, that there was no evidence that the children had been drugged, although toxicology test results would not be available for two or three weeks.

Nimisha's husband and father of the children Anand Tiwari was in Chicago for taking courses toward a Master's of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the time of the incident and had been ''completely cooperative'' with police, the police official said, adding ''He is, as you could imagine, distraught about the loss of his family.'' According to the newspaper, Mr Dial said he did not know the motive for the crime but the woman and her husband had marital troubles in the last few months. The couple got married in India in 1999 and moved shortly after to the US.

Officials were aware that Ms Tiwari and her husband of eight years had a troubled marriage. In May, both spouses filed complaints with police alleging bad parenting and abuse on the other's part.

Nimisha Tiwari sought an emergency order of protection on May 18, asking the court to order her husband to stay away from her, their home and the pre-school their eldest child attended. She also asked the court to order her husband to give her the children's passports and visas.

According to court records, the judge granted the emergency protection order but later vacated it after the lawyers of Anand Tiwari filed documents denying the woman's allegations. In his response, Mr Tiwari alleged that his wife had multiple sclerosis.

He said she was being treated by a neurologist and was taking medication for the disease. His wife was suffering from the psychological effects of the disease and that her ''impulsivity endangered their children.'' Late on Monday afternoon, three white crosses, bearing the names of the three victims, were planted outside the home, sharing space with a half-dozen stuffed animals, including a pair of teddy bears, one pink and one blue. It was a tribute from the neighbours.

UNI