CHENNAI: In yet another case of crime against women, a jilted lover set on fire a 20-year-old girl after she refused to continue the relationship on Friday night. Within minutes, the youth also killed himself by setting himself ablaze. The duo succumbed to their injures at Kilpauk Medical College on Saturday.
The girl, Mythili, returning after work from Anna Nagar, got off from the bus at Lenin Nagar and was walking home at around 8.30 pm on Friday.
“Parthiben followed her up to a street in Vivekananda Nagar and wanted to know the reason for ending their relationship. The duo started fighting and in a fit of rage Parthiben, holding poured kerosene on her and set her on fire and the victim ran in the street for about 100 meters. And within minutes, he set himself also ablaze,” said a senior police officer. “The residents of the locality rushed the duo to a Hospital,” added the officer.
Preliminary probe revealed that Parthiben and Mythili worked in a textile shop in Anna Nagar. The duo were in a relationship for the past two and a half years. However, Parthiben injured his leg six months back and had to quit his job. Meanwhile, Mythili’s father too fell ill and she became the breadwinner of the family, according to Mythili’s friend who told the police.
Owing to family responsibilities, Mythili did not want to continue the relationship and told Parthiben about it. However, the youth kept blackmailing her. “On Friday, though he came with kerosene, it is unclear if he intended to kill her or he wanted to threaten her by attempting to commit suicide,” said another officer.