5 youth celebrate friend’s birthday by setting him on fire, arrested

MUMBAI: Five boys have been arrested for setting their 21-year-old friend on fire while celebrating his birthday on Monday night

MUMBAI: Five boys have been arrested for setting their 21-year-old friend on fire while celebrating his birthday on Monday night. The victim, Abul Rehman Maksud Alam Khan, a resident of Kurla, suffered burn injuries and has been admitted to Bhabha Hospital in Kurla.

5 youth celebrate friend’s birthday by setting him on fire, arrested

“Masti kiya,” is how the friends described their motive to the Vinoba Bhave police in Kurla west.

Police said Abul was a resident of Kohinoor Phase in Kurla west and is a second year Bachelor of Accounting Finance student in a Matunga-based college. The night before his birthday on Tuesday, Abul received a phone call from his friends, asking him to meet them.

The friends – Ayaz Malik, Ashraf Malik, Qasim Chowdhury, Huzzaifa Khan and Sharif Shaikh – had bought a cake for Abul but as soon as they spotted him, they started throwing stones at him. Then, Ayaz allegedly whipped out a bottle of petrol and started pouring it on Abul.

“When Abul smelled petrol, he tried to break free and run. But the others caught him, and Ashraf, with a lighter, allegedly set Abul on fire. Abul started shouting for help, but his friends fled,” said a police officer.

Abul managed to tear off his shirt and poured water on himself from a bottle he took from a watchman. He went to a tap and doused the flames. One of the friends, Huzzaifa, had returned and took Abul to hospital. Abul had sustained burn injuries on his head, face, ears, hands and chest, said the officer.

Police have registered an offence under section 110 for ‘attempt to commit culpable homicide’ of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.