Date:13/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/13/stories/2008101356601300.htm

National

Man set on fire; suffers 50 per cent burns

Staff Reporter

Incident follows minor altercation; all the three accused arrested

Engulfed in flames, victim rushed to hospital
He owns a mobile accessory shop

NEW DELHI: In a shocking incident, three young men doused a shopkeeper with kerosene and set him afire a few metres away from his house in Hari Nagar here on Saturday following a minor altercation. All the three accused have been arrested.

Engulfed in flames, 28-year-old Sunil Anand rushed to nearby Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital where some passersby poured water on him and doused the flames. He was then admitted to the hospital.

Sunil, who runs a mobile accessories and photocopy shop, was about to pull down the shutter around 10 p.m. when Manish and Goldy arrived at his shop asking for an easy recharge for their cell phone. Preoccupied with other customers, Sunil asked the duo to come in the morning.

This led to a minor altercation. “Suddenly things went out of hand as the two pulled him out of the shop and began punching him. The duo then left threatening him with dire consequences. A little later, Sunil closed his shop and left for home on his motorcycle. He had barely driven a few metres, when the two along with their third accomplice Satish flagged him down and started beating him up again. While Goldy held him, Manish poured kerosene over him and Satish set him afire,” said Sanjeev Anand, elder brother of the victim. Sanjeev runs a grocery shop close to the mobile shop of his younger brother. The victim’s family came to know about the incident through the hospital authorities. Though he was discharged from the hospital after first-aid, the family took him to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after his condition deteriorated at night. He has been diagnosed with more than 50 per cent burns.

Sanjeev, who has been left shaken by the incident, said: “Our family is scared to even step out of the house now as the accused stay close by and can attack us again. We also fear for Sunil’s wife as she is due for a caesarean operation on Monday. She had a miscarriage earlier. We are keeping our fingers crossed.”

Brothers Manish and Satish run a computer repair shop in the area. Goldy is a cab driver.