NEW DELHI: A 42-year-old man was charred to death after the car he was driving caught fire in northwest Delhi’s Pitampura area, police said on Friday. The incident was reported at Mahindra Park police station around 10.37 pm on Thursday. The victim was identified as Ajay Gupta, who stayed near Rishikul School in the Alipur area of the Rohini district. According to the police, Gupta, who used to run a transport business, was on his way to Indira Gandhi International Airport when his car caught fire.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Northwest, Vijayantya Arya said as soon as the fire brigade was informed, they dispatched engines to the spot to bring the fire under control. Police teams, too, reached the spot, she said. Locals told police that the car caught fire while it was speeding on the Mukarba Flyover.
The fire officials said they were informed at 10.40 pm that a sports utility vehicle - Mahindra XUV 500 - went up in flames at the Mukarba Chowk flyover and a man was trapped inside.“Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the blaze but by the time firefighters reached the scene, the car was charred to ashes,” a fire official said.
Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said the charred body of the man was recovered from the car. The body was handed over to the police for post-mortem examination, Garg said, adding that the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. A Forensic Science Laboratory team and the district police inspected the scene. His post-mortem was conducted on Friday morning before the body was handed over to the family members. The victim is survived by his wife and three children. A family member said he left the house for the airport around 10 in the morning. He had planned a trip to Europe, the member of the grieving family said.