Lucknow, Jul 9 (IANS): A woman allegedly set herself on fire along with her two minor children in Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad district following a heated argument with her husband, police said Friday. All three were killed.

Kanti, 35, a resident of the Isrikipura village in Allahabad, some 200 km from Lucknow, set herself ablaze late Thursday along with her eight-year-old daughter Urmila and three-year-old son Sagar.

"Preliminary investigations indicate that marital discord was the main reason behind the incident," police inspector Shashikant Singh told reporters in Allahabad.

"According to locals, Kanti had heated arguments with her husband Shambhunath Thursday evening, following which he directed Kanti to leave," he added.

While police are yet to trace Shambhunath, they have detained some of his family members, who are being questioned in connection with the incident.

Locals have told the police that Shambhunath, a fruit vendor, used to return home after work in an inebriated state and beat his wife and children.