Gurugram man burns girlfriend to death after she finds out he is married

Police recovered the kerosene bottle allegedly used in the crime and arrested Sunil Kumar alias Noni, who had been in a relationship with the 23-year-old victim for nearly one-and-a-half years.

In Short

• Victim suffered severe burn injuries, died during treatment at Delhi hospital
• Police recovered kerosene bottle used in crime by accused Sunil Kumar
• Accused remanded to two-day police custody as investigation continues

A 35-year-old man has been arrested by Gurugram Police for allegedly setting his partner on fire after pouring kerosene on her during a dispute that erupted when she discovered he was already married. The woman, who suffered critical burn injuries in the incident, later died during treatment.

Police have recovered a bottle of kerosene believed to have been used in the crime and have taken the accused into two-day police custody as the investigation continues.

According to Gurugram Police, the accused, identified as Sunil Kumar alias Noni, had been in a relationship with the 23-year-old woman, Divya Kataria, for nearly one-and-a-half years.

The relationship allegedly began after the woman visited his gold-buying shop to sell jewellery more than a year ago. Police said tensions surfaced after the victim learnt that Sunil was already married.

Investigators said the woman confronted the accused at his shop on June 18, leading to a heated argument. During the altercation, the accused allegedly poured kerosene on her, but did not set her on fire then.

In an attempt to resolve the dispute following the brief altercation at Sunil’s shop, the woman booked a flat at Central Park on Sohna Road, where the two spent the night.

Police said the following morning, the accused allegedly told the woman that the smell of kerosene had disappeared from her clothes and asked her to wear the same outfit.

However, another argument between the two reportedly broke out soon afterwards, during which the accused allegedly set her on fire.

Following the incident, the accused himself took the woman to Artemis Hospital in Gurugram.

Due to the severity of her injuries, she was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on June 27.

Police said they first received information about the incident from Artemis Hospital on June 19 after the woman was admitted with severe burn injuries.

At the time, both the victim and her mother reportedly declined to pursue legal action.

The case took a decisive turn after the victim's cousin, Vikas, approached Sector-9A Police Station with a complaint on June 30.

According to the complaint, he met the victim on June 22, when she allegedly told him that Sunil had set her on fire and threatened to kill her, her mother and her sister if she disclosed the truth or filed a complaint.

Based on the complaint, Gurugram Police registered an FIR and launched an investigation, leading to the arrest of the accused on Wednesday.

During the probe, police recovered the kerosene bottle allegedly used in the crime from the accused's shop, along with his mobile phone.

The accused was produced before a court, which remanded him to two-day police custody. Police said further investigation is underway to establish all the circumstances surrounding the incident and gather additional evidence in the case.

- Ends