Mumbai: An unidentified man barged into the residence of a 35-year-old married woman and stabbed her to death, police said on Thursday.

The man also set her house on fire on Tuesday afternoon in suburban Mankhurd to make it look like an accident or a case of suicide, they said.

After the assailant fled by bolting the door from outside, neighbours saw smoke billowing out of the fifth floor flat and informed the police, who rushed the woman, Sufiya Khan, to Rajawadi Hospital where she died today.

Police suspect a love angle in the murder of Sufiya, whose second husband is abroad for the past two months. The deceased was living with her 10-year-old son, who was out at the time of the incident.

According to police, Sufiya married an autorickshaw driver from Bainganwadi area 13 years ago and had two sons from him. The couple separated due to marital discord.

She later married a cable operator from the locality and moved into the house he had rented. Sufiya had been living alone for the past few months as her second husband had gone to the Gulf for business purpose.