India, Oct. 9 -- A 28-year-old man suffered severe burns after his wife allegedly poured hot oil on him while he was asleep and then threw chilli powder over his wounds in south Delhi's Madangir last week, police said Wednesday. The alleged assault, which police suspect was triggered by a long-running matrimonial dispute, left the man hospitalised with painful burns across his body.

The victim, Dinesh Kumar, a pharmaceutical company employee, was first taken to Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital before being shifted to Safdarjung Hospital for further treatment. Kumar told police in his complaint that his wife, Sadhna, attacked him around 3.15am on October 2 as he lay sleeping beside their four-year-old daughter.

"He woke up with a burning sen...