26-year-old Navy sailor dies in Maharashtra after kidnappers set him on fire

A 26-year-old Navy sailor sustained grievous injuries after he was set on fire by his kidnappers in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, PTI reported on Saturday. Suraj Kumar Dubey later died at a Mumbai hospital.

Dubey, who belonged to Jharkhand, had been posted at the INS Agrani training institute near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. He was allegedly kidnapped by three men at gunpoint outside the Chennai airport on January 30 when he was returning from a vacation. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 10 lakh from Dubey. They also took away his phone.

For three days, the kidnappers kept Dubey in Chennai. Later, they took him to Palghar. On Friday morning, the three men tied Dubey’s hands and legs and set him on fire in a jungle near Gholvad.

Dubey was found by some local residents, who alerted the police about the incident, according to NDTV. He was first admitted to a local hospital, but then taken to Mumbai since his condition was serious. “A Naval sailor, Suraj Kumar Dubey, L/S, age 26 yrs of INS Agrani, on leave from the unit, was found in Palghar, Maharashtra, with 90 percent burns on the morning of February 5,” the Indian Navy said. “He was brought to INHS Asvini and declared DOA [dead on arrival].”

Palghar District Police spokesperson Sachin Navadkar told PTI that Dubey managed to tell the police about the entire episode before his death. The district police registered a murder case against the accused.

“We are investigating how Dubey, who was abducted in Chennai, was brought to Gholvad and that too at such a remote location,” an unidentified police officer told India Today. “The incident is being dealt on high priority.” Meanwhile, team of policemen left for Chennai to carry out investigation.

Dubey’s father said he wanted justice for his son. “That’s the message I want to get across via media,” Mithilesh Dubey told ANI. “He gave a statement before dying that he was kidnapped and imprisoned for three days, being made an object of ransom. He was then brought to Palghar and burnt to death.”