Delhi: Mentally-deranged son under radar for burning parents to death
A 40-year-old mentally deranged man is under police lens for allegedly setting fire to his west Delhi house, killing both his aged parents and injuring their tenant, in the early hours yesterday. Neighbors said they saw accused Santosh Gupta run away after the house was set ablaze. Gupta's siblings said that he was abusive towards their parents if they refused to fund his addiction.
Three fire tenders took 30 minutes to douse the fire
The fire started around 3am; Delhi Fire Service vehicles took time to reach the spot because of narrow lanes and rampant parking. The three fire tenders, pushed into service, took 30 minutes to douse the fire. By then, Chedi Lal (70) and his wife Lakshmi (63) were already dead, with their bodies lying a foot apart from each other, said officials.
Heard landlady's cries blaming Santosh: Injured tenant
The elderly couple had rented out a portion of their 2BHK Moti Nagar house to 24-year-old Vinay and two other boys, who worked as waiters. The critically injured Vinay, who's recuperating in a hospital, said he heard Lakshmi shout out for help while blaming Santosh for starting the fire. However, Vijay Kumar, DCP (west), said that till he's arrested, nothing can be ascertained.
Lal had managed to escape, but returned to rescue wife
A case under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 436 (mischief by fire with intent to destroy house) has been registered. According to a neighbor, Lal had managed to escape, but returned to rescue Lakhsmi, who is a diabetic and had issues with movement. They both got trapped when the refrigerator's compressor exploded and got charred to death.
The aged-couple was running a shop fearing beating by son
The deceased couple had nine children, of which four have died and others, except Santosh, stay with their families elsewhere in Delhi. His brother Pritam and sister Niru said that Santosh was unemployed and always blackmailed Lal to give him money for drugs and drinking. If they refused, Santosh thrashed them. "Because of this, my parents ran a snacks-cart despite their age," said Pritam.
