Man sets house on fire, dies in cooking cylinder explosion

A 50-year-old man was charred to death after allegedly setting his house afire and subsequently, causing a cooking gas cylinder to explode in Sangam Vihar, south Delhi, in the early hours of Thursday, police said.

Two fire tenders were pressed into operation and following a search, the man’s remains were found, police said. The deceased was identified as Layeek Ahmed, 50.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Ankit Chauhan said that at 12.35am on Thursday, the police control room received a call about the incident. A police team rushed to the spot and found the house engulfed in flames, he said.

Chauhan said that from an enquiry of locals in the area, police ascertained that Ahmed was regularly inebriated and was mentally unstable. He lived with his wife and their 21-year-old son, who was at work at the time of the incident.

“We learnt that before setting the house on fire, Ahmed sent his wife to buy gutkha from a shop in the vicinity. When she left, he closed the door from the inside and set the room on fire. When she returned, she saw the fire and raised the alarm. Neighbours started breaking the door and informed the police,” Chauhan said.