'Posed as suspended R&AW agent': Man sets himself on fire outside wife’s home in Delhi, dies

NEW DELHI: A 29-year-old man died after allegedly setting himself ablaze outside his wife’s residence amid a matrimonial dispute in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on Monday evening.

According to police, a PCR call regarding a fire incident was received at Mahendra Park police station, following which a team rushed to the spot and found the man, later identified as Deepansh Chaudhary, in a severely burnt condition. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died during treatment.

“Initial inquiry revealed that after an altercation, Chaudhary allegedly threatened to die by suicide and later set himself on fire outside his wife’s residence,” said DCP (Northwest) Akanksha Yadav.

Police said Chaudhary, who earlier lived in Maharashtra, had met Neha Kashyap (27), an MBA graduate employed at an MNC, through a matrimonial website in July last year. “He initially claimed to be an Indian Forest Service officer posted in Maharashtra and later told the woman he was an undercover RAW agent who had been suspended, using the ‘suspension’ as a reason to avoid showing documents,” a senior police officer said.

The couple got married on April 2 and moved to a rented accommodation in southwest Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, which was rented in Kashyap’s name, the officer said, adding that after the wedding, the woman discovered he was unemployed and did odd jobs, including that of a cab driver.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Kashyap alleged she had expressed apprehensions but Chaudhary had blackmailed her into the marriage by threatening to harm her family and using objectionable photographs of her. She further alleged that he had started physically assaulting her within days of the marriage and that she had filed a domestic violence complaint with the Crime Against Women cell. She said she had attempted to file for a divorce on May 7.

“Late on May 11 night, he assaulted and tried to kill me. The following morning, he took me to a local restaurant, and told me that he is taking me somewhere and that I should forget Delhi. When I refused, he took my clothes and documents before fleeing. I immediately raised an alarm,” she alleged during the media interaction. She further claimed expenses made by Chaudhary on her credit card left her in a debt of Rs 8-9 lakh.

Police said in the early hours of May 12, a PCR call regarding a heated altercation was received from the restaurant in Uttam Nagar, after which Kashyap returned to her maternal home in Jahangirpuri.

Kashyap said Chaudhary came to Jahangirpuri on Monday on the pretext of returning the clothes and documents. “He tried to force me to come with him but after I refused, he snatched my phone and fled. He returned later and threatened to implicate us.”

Another senior police officer said, “Relatives have claimed that Chaudhary had been disowned by his family for nearly eight years and was previously married.” The claims are being verified, the officer added.

Chaudhary’s family is expected to arrive in Delhi from Surat on Wednesday, after which the post-mortem examination will be conducted and further probe will be undertaken.