Chandigarh: Police have arrested a man for allegedly setting his brother-in-law on fire with petrol in Punjab’s Tarn Taran, an attack that claimed the lives of two people, including a woman who was trying to intervene.
The incident took place on June 13 in Sangha village, while CCTV footage of the attack has now surfaced, revealing the sequence of events leading to the fatal blaze.
According to police, the deceased has been identified as Lovepreet Singh, a resident of Lopoke village in Amritsar, who had gone to his wife’s parental home to persuade her to return with him. The couple had married around nine months ago, but his wife had been staying at her parents’ house following a domestic dispute.
Police said an argument broke out between Lovepreet and his in-laws. During the confrontation, his brother-in-law, Sajan Singh, allegedly brought a bottle of petrol and poured it over him.
As family members attempted to stop the altercation, Gurjit Kaur, the accused’s sister-in-law, also became splashed with petrol while trying to intervene. Investigators allege that Sajan Singh then ignited the petrol with a lighter, engulfing both Lovepreet and Gurjit in flames. The accused also sustained burn injuries during the incident.
Both victims were rushed to hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
The CCTV footage shows an argument escalating into a physical scuffle before the accused allegedly pours petrol on Lovepreet. Despite Gurjit Kaur’s attempts to stop him, the accused is seen lighting the petrol, after which the victims run in panic while engulfed in flames.
Lovepreet is also seen jumping into a nearby drain in an attempt to extinguish the fire, but the effort proved unsuccessful. Meanwhile, bystanders managed to put out the flames on the accused after he too caught fire.
Sadar Police Station SHO Navdeep Singh said the accused has been booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for the murder of Lovepreet Singh and Gurjit Kaur. After receiving treatment for his burn injuries, he was arrested and later remanded to judicial custody.
