Husband pours kerosene on teacher, 40, sets her ablaze in Delhi’s Begumpur; held

The woman’s family said that her husband murdered her as she refused to transfer some property that she owned to his name. Police said they are probing the claims

A 42-year-old man poured kerosene on his wife, 40, and allegedly set her on fire at their flat in Jain Nagar near Begumpur in outer Delhi, police officers aware of the matter said on Tuesday, adding that the woman succumbed to her injuries.

Jyoti Dabas, a municipal school teacher who was afflicted by polio. (HT)

Police identified the victim as Jyoti Dabas, a municipal school teacher who was afflicted by polio, adding that her husband — Rajbir Tehlan, a contractual conductor with the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) — has been arrested. Officers said that Tehlan and the couple’s two minor daughters — aged 13 and 1 years — were also injured in the Monday morning incident.

Dabas’s family, meanwhile, have alleged that Tehlan murdered her as she refused to transfer some property that she owned to his name. Police said they are investigating the claims.

Giving details of the case, deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said that the police control room received a call at around 7.30am on Monday about a fire in Jain Nagar. “A police team immediately reached the spot and found the main door locked from inside. The fire brigade also came to the spot and doused the fire. On inspection of the house, a critically burnt woman was found in an unresponsive state. She was immediately shifted to hospital, where she was declared brought dead,” the DCP said.

Around the same time, the officer said, the police control room received a call from another hospital about a man who was admitted with his two daughters. “The man’s elder daughter said that her father had quarrelled with her mother, and he set her on fire using kerosene,” Sidhu said.

Subsequently, police booked Tehlan on charges of murder and arrested him.

Meanwhile, Dabas’s brother Ashish alleged that Tehlan regularly beat his sister. “The house they lived in was in my sister’s name, but he would torture her to transfer it in his name. Eventually, she did that. Recently, my sister bought another house in Jain Nagar, from which she used to get rental income. Ever since she bought the house, Rajbir was forcing her to transfer that one as well,” he said.

“He also had a problem that they had two daughters, and he wanted a boy,” Ashish added.

According to Ashish, his niece — Dabas’s elder daughter — told the family that her parents fought on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, till around 5.30am, when Tehlan poured kerosene on her mother and set her ablaze. “When she tried to save her mother, Tehlan tried to attack her as well, but she managed to lock herself in a room with her younger sister,” Ashish said, adding that when neighbours noticed smoke coming out of the house and called police, he told the team that arrived that the fire broke out because of a gas leak.

DCP Sidhu said that an inquiry in the case is ongoing.

“The accused has also sustained injuries. He was formally arrested in the case. The motive behind the murder is being investigated,” he said.