Man who set woman on fire 2 days before her wedding held
GURUGRAM: Police on Tuesday arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly setting a 24-year-old woman on fire on Monday morning--two days before her wedding--while she was sleeping in her room in Farrukhnagar.
Police said the woman is critical with over 65% burns and is currently undergoing treatment at a Delhi hospital.
The suspect has been identified as Jaipal alias Billu, a resident of Mehchana village in Farrukhnagar. Police said he lived in the neighbourhood and he and the woman were childhood friends.
Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police, said during questioning, Jaipal revealed he had asked the woman to marry him several times but she turned him down.
“Jaipal was harassing the woman and trying to force her to marry him. He tried convincing her for the last four months but she turned him down. The woman’s repeated rejection infuriated him. He said that he could not see her getting married to someone else so he tried to kill her before the wedding,” Sangwan said, adding that the suspect was “obsessed” with the woman.
Sangwan said Jaipal bought petrol on Saturday, kept it in his room and planned his revenge till Sunday.
Police said around 5.30am on Monday, the woman’s father went to give fodder to their cattle while she was asleep in a room on the roof of the house. More than 20 relatives had come to attend the woman’s wedding, which was scheduled to be held on May 11 (Wednesday), and were sleeping on different floors, said police.
According to police, Billu climbed onto the roof and entered the woman’s room with a two-litre plastic bottle filled with petrol. He threatened her to call off the wedding. When she refused, he poured petrol on her and set her on fire.
“When the woman cried for help, her relatives rushed to her and tried to douse the fire. Her father was informed about the incident; the woman was rushed to a civil hospital, from where she was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi,” said the ACP.
Sangwan said after setting the woman on fire, Jaipal fled the spot with her mobile phone.
“He took her mobile phone to check if she was talking to the groom and wanted to send him some messages. As he could not crack the code of the phone lock, he broke the screen and threw it in a field,” said the ACP, adding the police have recovered the mobile phone and also accessed footage from CCTV cameras at the fuel station where Jaipal bought the petrol.
The woman’s younger brother, said, “Doctors said her condition is critical and her chances of survival are slim. There is so much pressure on us. The groom’s family has called off the wedding after the incident,” he said.
The woman’s father, said his daughter’s was to be the first wedding in the family.
“My daughter was so happy and excited about her wedding. Now, she is on her deathbed,” he said.
A case under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 326A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc.) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at Farrukhnagar police station on Monday, police said.