The Gurugram police have arrested the prime suspect, a 35-year-old man, for murdering his 23-year-old girlfriend by setting her on fire.
The accused was identified as Sunil Kumar, a resident of Gubhana village, Badli in Jhajjar district. Police have taken him on two days of police remand after producing him in a city court and are questioning him.
The incident occurred in the Sector 9A area after the victim discovered the accused was married and confronted him about it.
According to the police, on June 19, information was received from Artemis Hospital that a woman, Divya Kataria, a resident of village Basai, Gurugram, had been admitted with severe burn injuries.
The police were also informed that after receiving initial treatment, she had been referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. When the police spoke to the victim and her mother regarding the incident, both stated that they did not wish to pursue any legal action.
On June 27, Divya Kataria succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital.
Following her death, her cousin Vikas Kataria appeared at Police Station Sector-9A on June 30 and lodged a complaint. He stated that when he visited Divya in the hospital on June 22, she told him that a man identified as Sunil alias Noni had forcibly set her on fire and threatened to kill her, her mother, and her sister if she revealed the truth to anyone.
Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered.
Acting swiftly, the police team arrested the accused on Wednesday from Sector-9A, Gurugram.
During interrogation, the accused revealed that he runs a gold-buying shop in Gurugram and is married.
The deceased had visited his shop about one and a half years ago to sell gold, during which they became acquainted and later entered into a relationship. Their relationship turned sour after the woman discovered that he was already married.
“Investigation revealed that on June 18, Divya visited Sunil’s shop, where an argument broke out between them. During the altercation, Sunil allegedly poured kerosene kept in the shop over her clothes. In an attempt to resolve the dispute, she booked a flat in Central Park on Sohna Road, where both of them stayed overnight. On the morning of June 19, the accused allegedly told her that the smell of kerosene had faded and asked her to change into fresh clothes. Another argument then erupted, during which he allegedly set her on fire. He subsequently took her to Artemis Hospital, from where she was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, and she later died during treatment,” said a senior police officer.
“Based on the accused’s disclosure, the police recovered a bottle of kerosene kept at his shop along with his mobile phone. We are questioning the accused,” he added.
