A 22-year-old engineer died after a man set her and her family on fire in Chennai’s Adambakkam area on Monday night, according to reports. The accused has been arrested, NDTV reported on Tuesday.
The man, Aakash, had been the woman’s classmate and had been stalking her for a month. On Monday night, he went to her house around 8.45 pm and told her family he wanted to speak to her. When the family refused to let him see her, Aakash poured petrol on the woman and burnt her alive using a lighter, unidentified police officials said.
The woman’s mother and younger sister suffered burn injuries when they tried to save her. Her mother suffered 49% burns, and her sister suffered 23% burns, The Hindu reported.
Aakash claimed that he and the woman were in a relationship and they planned to marry, police officials said. However, the woman’s family said that she had rejected his advances.
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