Man set afire by wife's paramour, associate in Delhi

New Delhi: A 30-year-old man was burnt alive allegedly by his wife's paramour and an associate at a park in northeast Delhi's Nand Nagri area, police said on Tuesday.

The deceased, Vinod Khandelwal, was an auto-rickshaw driver. Police have arrested the prime accused Sonu (19) but his accomplice, who is also his brother-in-law, is absconding.

Before succumbing to his injuries, Vinod gave a statement where he identified the duo, accusing them of having set him ablaze.

Vinod told police that he had filed a missing complaint after his wife went missing on February 19 suspecting that Sonu had kidnapped her.

On being informed that his wife was actually staying with Sonu, Vinod went to the former's place several times but his wife refused to return with him.

He also apparently posted on social networking site Facebook that police were not taking his complaint seriously, a charge refuted by officials who maintain that the woman was staying with Sonu on her own wish.

Meanwhile, Sonu hatched a plan to kill Vinod as he considered him to be a "thorn" in the relationship, police said.

"Sonu and his brother-in-law approached Vinod at a park on Friday at around 10.30 pm with two white plastic bottles filled with kerosene oil. An argument broke out between them during which Sonu's brother-in-law overpowered Vinod while Sonu poured kerosene on his body and then set it afire," a senior police officer said.

A critically injured Vinod was taken to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital where he succumbed on Saturday night. Yesterday, the body was handed over to his family after autopsy.