Man planning to set 2 women ablaze held

PALGHAR: A 28-year-old resident of Ajmer, Rajasthan, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly conspiring to set ablaze a 48-year-old woman and her 19-year-old daughter in Palghar.

According to Palghar police, the accused, Bhaironsingh Raghuveersingh Rathod, wanted to take revenge after his wedding with the woman’s elder daughter, 24, was called off last year.

This comes just weeks after a man set ablaze a college lecturer in Hinganghat, Wardha district. She eventually succumbed to her burn injuries.

Senior inspector Dashrath Patil said Rathod was supposed to get married to the 24-year-old in Palghar last year. “However, when the mother got to know that Rathod was unemployed, she called off the wedding. The 24-year-old then married another man this year in Palghar, which made Rathod angry,” said Patil.

The officer said that Rathod first posted obscene remarks about the 48-year-old woman on social media, following which he kept calling and threatening her. “Following the 48-year-old’s complaint, we registered a case against Rathod under the Information Technology (IT) Act. We sent a team to Ajmer, but Rathod had already fled,” said Patil.

On Thursday night, Rathod allegedly called the mother and threatened to burn her, her 19-year-old daughter and their house in Palghar. “She informed us, and we started tracking Rathod’s number. We found that he was at Palghar station. He was about to escape to Ajmer, when our police team nabbed him. We found a 750ml bottle of petrol and a box of matches in his belongings,” said the officer, adding, “Rathod said he got the petrol from an auto driver in Ajmer and brought it to Palghar. Had we not caught Rathod in time, the accused could have set the woman and her daughter on fire.”

Rathod was arrested under section 285 (negligent conduct with respect to combustible matter) of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act and has been remanded in police custody, said Patil.