Stalker tries to set woman on fire in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar

Police said the woman was allegedly having an extra marital relationship with the accused. But she has been distancing herself lately.

Dejected over his spurned advances, a man tried to burn a 32-year-old married woman at her Malviya Nagar residence in south Delhi on Friday morning, police said.

A man tried to burn a 32-year-old married woman at her Malviya Nagar residence in south Delhi on Friday morning. (AFP/Getty Images)

Police said the woman was allegedly having an extra marital relationship with the accused, Chanki. However, for the past one month she had distanced herself from him and when she spurned him repeatedly, he took the alleged step, police said.

Deputy Commissioner of police (south) Romil Baaniya said at 7.35 am on Friday, Chanki went to the woman’s maternal house with a bottle of petrol and threatened to kill her.

Before she could react, he poured some petrol on himself and then emptied the rest of the bottle on her. He then lit his jacket. After the jacket caught fire, Chanki removed it, and threw it on the woman and ran away.

An investigator said the woman’s brother rushed to save her but got burnt in the process. The woman’s mother who joined the rescue effort with her son, also received burns.

“The brother took the burning jacket and threw it outside the house but not before their mother also reached there to help him and came in contact with fire. Had he not reacted in time, the woman would have received grievous injuries,” said the investigator.

All the three persons received minor burn injuries and were provided first aid, police said.

Baaniya said that the accused, Chanki, and the woman had gone missing together on November 17 this year. However, she returned three days later.

“She has two children. Her relations with her husband were not cordial and she had been living at her parent’s house since a month where the incident happened,” said Baaniya.

He added that based on the woman’s statement, a case under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC has been registered at Malviya Nagar police station.

“The accused is on the run. Police teams have been raiding his possible hideouts,” said Baaniya.

Police said that Chanki used to work as support staff in a mall at Gurgaon.

In her statement to police, the woman said that she knew Chanki for the last one year.