A 51-year-old man died after allegedly setting himself on fire outside a factory in northwest Delhi’s Wazirpur Industrial Area on Friday morning, with police suspecting that he took the extreme step after a 22-year-old woman working at the factory repeatedly ignored his advances.
He reportedly became upset after she repeatedly ignored his advances. He allegedly insisted on meeting her, even as she refused to see him. Thereafter, he allegedly poured an inflammable liquid on himself and set himself on fire. A team from a nearby police post reached the spot, doused the flames and rescued the man. He was taken to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital, where he died during treatment. “Prima facie, it appears that he used petrol. However, we are waiting for the forensic examination and autopsy reports for a confirmation,” the officer added.
During the preliminary inquiry, the officers said, it was learnt that the man had come to meet a 22-year-old working at the factory.
Senior police officers said the man had allegedly been pursuing the woman, whose father was known to him, for the past few months. The man’s body was later shifted to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital’s mortuary for autopsy, the DCP said, adding that the incident took place outside a utensils manufacturing factory. Police said they were probing the incident further to ascertain the exact reason behind the alleged self-immolation and what liquid the man used to set himself alight.
Deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Akanksha Yadav said the Ashok Vihar police station received a call on Friday morning about a self-immolation incident in Wazirpur Industrial Area.
“Further investigation revealed that the man was already married and had children. Some months ago, he allegedly developed a fondness towards his acquaintance’s 22-year-old daughter and later expressed his feelings to her.
The woman, however, had been ignoring his advances, which, we suspect, triggered him to take the extreme step,” an officer who requested anonymity said.
