Woman doused in kerosene, set ablaze

A former teacher of fashion designing at South Delhi Polytechnic in Kalkaji was doused in kerosene and set afire by two unidentified attackers, reports Vijaita Singh.

A former teacher of fashion designing at South Delhi Polytechnic in Kalkaji was doused in kerosene and set afire by two unidentified attackers at her home in Greater Kailash-II of south Delhi on Saturday night.

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Tarveen Suri, 36, is now battling for life at Safdarjung Hospital with 80 per cent burns. Her husband Naveen Suri, who works for a Gurgaon-based travel agency, was away in Goa to attend a conference at the time of the incident. It is suspected that a woman colleague of Tarveen's husband may be behind the attack. Tarveen's family members said for the past few days, she had been receiving threat calls from a woman.

Just a week ago, Tarveen joined the Residency Hotel in Panchsheel Enclave, ending her stint at South Delhi Polytechnic. "She had joined the hotel as assistant sales manager. Last Monday, when she was coming out of her office, someone tried to run his car into her's and she injured her foot," said Taranjeet Pahwa, Tarveen's brother.

Tarveen's father-in-law RN Suri was present at the house when the incident took place. He said, "After her accident, I used to pick her up from office and bring her home. On Saturday we returned home at around 5.45 pm. Twenty minutes later, someone rang the doorbell. Tarveen answered, but they left without entering. Maybe they came to see if she was at home."

The attackers returned at around 7.15 pm. Suri and his wife were inside the drawing room when she came, in flames. "We put a rug on her and poured water. Our hands got burnt in the process. We then took her to the Holy Family Hospital in Okhla from where she was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital," said Kusum Suri, Tarveen's mother-in-law.

Tarveen's daughters, Shivani, 8 and Shivya, 7 were present in the house. It was Shivani who called up the police and alerted them about the attack on her mother.