Advocate's chamber at Delhi's Patiala House Courts set on fire over dispute; suspect absconding

The fire gutted the chamber and destroyed important legal documents, electronic items, and furniture, police said.

An advocate’s chamber at Patiala House Courts was allegedly set ablaze by a former associate of the lawyer over a monetary dispute in the early hours of Sunday, police said on Wednesday, adding that the suspect has been identified but is on the run.

A police officer aware of the matter said police received a call at 1.14am on Sunday regarding a fire in an advocate’s chamber at Patiala House Courts. (Representational image/HT)

Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma confirmed the fire.

A police officer aware of the matter said police received a call at 1.14am on Sunday regarding a fire in an advocate’s chamber at Patiala House Courts. When police reached the spot, they found chamber number 246-A, allotted to advocate Pradeep Kumar Nirwan, on fire.

The fire gutted the chamber and destroyed important legal documents, electronic items and furniture, police said.

Two fire tenders rushed to the spot and managed to douse the flames. No injuries were reported in the incident.

The officer said CCTV footage from cameras installed near the chamber helped investigators identify the suspect as a 30-year-old advocate living in Ghaziabad who had formerly worked with Nirwan. Preliminary inquiry suggests that a financial dispute between the two may have led to the incident.

“In the CCTV footage, the suspect can be seen breaking the chamber lock at 12.42am and returning after some time. Subsequently, the chamber caught fire,” the officer said.

Police said the complainant, advocate Nirwan, later filed a formal complaint claiming that several original case files belonging to clients, two laptops, a printer and furniture were completely destroyed in the blaze.

“Around ₹1 lakh was allegedly due from the suspect to Nirwan. The suspect was not returning the money despite Nirwan’s repeated demands. When pressure was mounted on him to repay the amount, he allegedly set the chamber on fire,” a senior police officer said.

Police said the suspect’s mobile phone has been switched off since the incident and teams are conducting raids at multiple locations in Delhi and Ghaziabad. An FIR has been registered at Tilak Marg police station under Sections 305(A) (theft), 326(G) (mischief by fire), and 331(4) (trespassing) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

An advocate practising at Patiala House Courts raised concerns over security. “The ease with which the suspect managed to break in and start a fire is very worrying,” he said.