An Indian American who allegedly set fire his two sons will be charged with murder and arson, after one of the kids succumbed to his injuries in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Kaushik Patel, a 34-year-old resident of Glendale Heights, is suspected of dousing Om, 4, and Vishv, 7, with
petrol and setting them on fire on November 18 last year when their mother was away.
Om died on Thursday of burn injuries after battling for life for two months at a hospital. Vishv remains in critical but stable condition in the burns unit, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Patel will be arrested and charged once he is released from the hospital, where he too was being treated for burns, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Patel's wife, Nisha, was granted a protection order last month to keep him away from her and their children.
A relative told the Tribune that Patel had called his brother the night of the incident and talked about a botched suicide attempt involving himself and his sons. Later, he himself drove his sons to his brother's home, from where they were taken to the hospital.
In another arson incident involving an Indian American in the Chicago area, Subhash Chander has been charged with killing his pregnant daughter, son-in-law and grandson two days before the New Year, allegedly because he did not approve of his son-in-law on caste consideration.