Nearly 20 hours after a furniture shop owner set ablaze the woman running the grocery store next door, the police recorded his arrest on Wednesday.

In his statement to the Bedakam police, the accused — 56-year-old Ramamrutham, a native of Tamil Nadu — claimed he committed the act in a drunken haze and a sudden fit of rage.

Police said they could not question or formally arrest him on Tuesday because he was in a state of drunken stupor. Investigators, however, believe the attack on 30-year-old C Ramitha was premeditated because Ramamrutham arrived at her shop carrying a can of thinner and a flaming stick.

He poured the thinner on Ramitha and set her on fire inside her grocery shop, Devuttan’s Store, at Mannadukkam near Munnad in Bedadka grama panchayat.

Bedakam Station House Officer Rajeevan Valiyavalappil said Ramamrutham had been booked under Section 109(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for attempted murder, and Section 326(g) for arson.

Ramitha, who suffered severe burns above her waist, is battling for her life at AJ Hospital in Mangaluru. "She is in unbearable pain. Every six hours, doctors administer sedatives to keep her from slipping into shock," said Sajitha K, an eyewitness and the complainant in the case.

Ramitha's husband, Nandakumar, who works at a restaurant in Dubai, flew down Wednesday morning. Though allowed into the ICU, he said she was barely able to speak. "The doctors told us they can assess her chances of survival only after four days," said Sajitha, who works at the Panayal Service Cooperative Bank.

Around 3.30 pm on Tuesday, Sajitha had just bought groceries from Ramitha and was walking towards her scooter when Ramitha called her back — she had left her keys and purse behind. "As I turned back, I saw Ramamrutham walking towards the shop with a can in one hand and a flaming stick in the other," she recalled.

Before she could react, he poured the liquid on Ramitha and set her on fire. "Ramitha ran in circles inside the shop. I screamed at her to come out and roll on the ground," Sajitha said. Ramitha stumbled out and rolled on the ground. Just then, the 'Sree Krishna' passenger bus pulled over at the nearby stop, and the passengers saw the burning woman. "They rushed to throw water on her. By then, she was already badly burned. It all happened in under five minutes," Sajitha said.

As the bus was about to leave, Ramamrutham boarded it. "I shouted that he was the one who did it and told the passengers to shut the rear door. I boarded the bus and locked it from the front," she said.

She then instructed the driver to head straight to the police station. "He remained cold and remorseless throughout the journey," Sajitha said