16-yr-old set afire after fight over broken phone in Ghaziabad

The family of the victim alleged that the accused broke the victim’s mobile phone in late December and the two parties had an argument when the minor had demanded money for his broken phone, after which the accused beat him up.

A 16-year-old boy suffered severe burn injuries after three men allegedly poured inflammable liquid on him and set him afire. Police in this connection have registered an FIR at the Sahibabad police station against the three accused for attempt to murder and also levied provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A 16-year-old boy was allegedly set on fire by three local men near Tulsi Niketan locality in Sahibabad on Saturday morning. The police reached the spot and enquired about incident from locals and victim's family members in Ghaziabad (Sakib Ali/ HT Photo)

The FIR mentions the names of three accused as Munna, Chautala and Salman Siddiqui, who are stated to be in age group of 20-22 years. According to the police, the incident took place around 10am.

The family of the victim, who is a resident of Tulsi Niketan, alleged that the accused broke the victim’s mobile phone in late December and the two parties had an argument when the minor had demanded money for his broken phone, after which the accused beat him up.

They said he had gone to drop his cousin sister to her house in Gagan Vihar and midway, met the three accused who took him near a water tank.

“On the night of December 31, 2018 he had gone to his maternal aunt’s house and met the three men, who were known to him. They took his mobile phone and started throwing it to each other. During this, the phone fell down and broke. My son asked them to pay for the broken mobile but they beat him up. To threaten him, they also inflicted injuries on his face with some sharp object, but we did not report the matter to the police as a legal case would have created an enmity,” the victim’s mother, said.

The family said that the three men met the victim on Saturday morning as well when he had gone to his maternal aunt’s house to drop his cousin sister.

“My brother again asked them to pay for the broken mobile phone but they beat him up. The three held him tight. My younger brother was with the victim and he told me that the men brought inflammable liquid and poured it over him before setting him afire with the help of a burning matchstick. Later, they fled the spot. Locals rushed to his help but he suffered burns on face, chest and lower body parts. His clothes also got burnt and we rushed him to hospital,” the victim’s older brother said.

After allegedly setting him on fire, the three men fled the scene of crime while the victim was rushed to GTB Hospital in Delhi.

The victim said he did not know whether the liquid was petrol or kerosene. His family mentioned in the FIR that the accused allegedly poured kerosene before setting him afire.

“There was a vehicle standing at some distance... one of them brought some liquid and poured over me... I don’t remember whether it was petrol or kerosene,” the victim told HT over the phone.

Police officers said they are looking into the matter.

“He has suffered about 30-40% burns and is under treatment. It was a case of dispute over a mobile which led to the incident. We have registered an FIR and formed a team to track the three accused,” Shlok Kumar, superintendent of police (city), said.

The victim is the second of four siblings and is recuperating at GTB Hospital in Delhi.

“We are investigating the case and will identify the liquid during course of investigation,” a police officer said.