Indian wife and her baby daughter burned to death by husband as the mother breastfed her little girl because husband wanted a son.

A young mum and her baby daughter were burned to death by her husband in a row over dowry payments, it was reported today.

Gunjan Masat allegedly poured kerosene over his 22-year-old wife Annu Devi and their child and set them alight with a match

Police said Annu Devi, 22, was set ablaze as she breastfed her daughter.

Husband Gunjan Masat was arrested after allegedly pouring kerosene over his wife and child and setting them alight with a match.

He allegedly tried to make the murder look like an accident by making Annu, who suffered 90 per cent burns, sit beside a fireplace and place a water container over it.

 Annu Devi's mother-in-law holds the body of the baby girl

The young mother was barely alive when she was spotted lying in a courtyard in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

She and her infant daughter wer rushed to hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival.

The couple, who had been married for more than a year, reportedly began having problems after Annu gave birth to a baby girl.

Her father Raghuni Rana was quoted as telling police: "They wanted a son but didn't realise that giving birth to a girl was not Devi's fault.

"They were demanding a TV set and a motorcycle. I had already given them two bighas (1.6 acres) of land in dowry.

"They started harassing and torturing her until they decided to end her life."

Police Superintendent Nirmal Kumar Mishra said the victim's husband and in-laws would be arrested and prosecuted for the "heinous" crime.

Annu's brother-in-law, who is also wanted over the murder, is on the run.