Lucknow: A man died of burns in Rae Bareli on Monday, after he tried to immolate himself in an attempt to implicate his neighbour for the criminal offence.
Police said that to implicate his neighbour, the victim, Anil Kumar Pandey, 38, poured petrol on himself in front of their house and planned to only set his feet on fire, so that locals could save him in time.
The plan went wrong, however, as he suffered severe burns and other residents could not rescue him. He was rushed to the King George’s Medical University (KGMU), where he succumbed to burns in the afternoon, police said.
Alok Priyadarshi, SP of Rae Bareli, said it all started on October 20, when Anil’s wife Annu, 35, visited a Durga puja pandal without informing him.
“The couple had a fight that day and neighbours intervened to pacify them. Next day, when Anil went out for work, Annu visited her neighbour, Reema, 27, who works as a peon in the district court,” the SP said.
“Annu was frequently thrashed by her husband and Reema advised her to take up the issue with her parents and family,” RK Singh, SHO of Kotwali, said.
On Reema’s advice, Annu went to her home on October 21. When Anil came to know that Reema was behind all this, he decided to teach her a lesson.
“Anil purchased petrol and went up to Reema’s house. He poured petrol on himself and set himself afire to implicate Reema in a fake case of immolation. However, he sustained severe burns by the time residents could save him. He was referred to the burns unit at KGMU where he died,” the SHO said.
He said CCTV footage at the petrol pump showed that Anil had purchased petrol in a container.
Police are questioning Reema and Anil’s wife.
Anil worked in a general store. His father, Ramesh Pandey, retired as a veterinary doctor.
