Lucknow, Dec 24 (IANS): A man allegedly set on fire a woman's house after she reportedly turned down his proposal.

The incident took place on Wednesday night in Bazaarkhala police station area.

A constable of UP-112 unit doused the fire before it could spread out.

The police have detained the accused, identified as Chetram, for investigation.

Station House Officer (SHO) Bazarkhala, Vijendra Singh, said that Chetram, who works as a painter, got interested in the woman when he was hired for work in 2006. The woman is a divorcee and lives with her mother.

"He reached the house of the woman and got into a verbal spat with her. He later sprinkled kerosene in a room near the kitchen and set it on fire. The residents called the police who pulled Chetram out and removed a gas cylinder from the kitchen to prevent the spread of fire," the SHO said.

Chetram, who is married with children, claimed before police that he was in a relationship with the woman.

He added that he loved the woman but found that she had developed a friendship with another man who is from Rajasthan.