Chennai Woman Dies After Stalker Sets Her, Family on Fire

According to reports, Aakash, who has been stalking Indhuja for over a month, landed up outside her house on Monday.

Aakash, the stalker who was arrested by the police

(Photo: Smitha Tarur/The Quint)

In a shocking incident of a stalker who went on a killing spree, a man in Chennai set the family of a woman – he was obsessing over – on fire. Aakash, who used to study with Indhuja, an engineering graduate, had been stalking her for over a month, claiming he was in love with her. When she didn’t reciprocate, Aakash went to her house on Monday night and set her and her family on fire.

The incident happened at Chennai’s Adambakkam AGS Colony, in Saraswathi Nagar, between 8:45 pm and 9 pm on Monday night. The accused, Aakash, absconded right after, but was caught on Tuesday morning.

According to reports, Aakash, who lives in the neighbourhood, landed up outside Indhuja's residence on Monday night. Indhuja and her family were initially reluctant to open the door, but Aakash persisted, claiming he only wanted to speak to Indhuja for a few minutes.

There are two versions of what happened at this point.

According to some reports, when they opened the door, he took the can of petrol in his hand and poured it on Indhuja.

Her mother Renuka and her sister Nivedha, who were nearby, also got doused in petrol. Scared, Indhuja then ran into her bedroom to escape from Aakash.

According to other reports, he came in and there was an argument. An angry Aakash then went outside the house and found the can of petrol, and emptied it on Indhuja.

During the altercation, a neighbour who heard the commotion came to intervene. Speaking to Puthiya Thalaimurai, he said:

He was pouring it on them, and by the time I took the can away from his hand and started asking what was happening, he lit the fire and ran away.

“At that point, everyone started running as they caught fire. First, the boy ran away, then the mother who was on fire was running behind him, and I was behind them. I, too, suffered burns in the incident,” the neighbour says. “I wasn’t able to find out what happened to the two people who were inside,” he told Puthiya Thalaimurai.

Indhuja succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday morning at the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) hospital in the city. Her mother Renuka has 49 percent burns, and sister Nivedha has 23 percent burns. Both of them are critical and getting treatment at KMC.

We received two burns case last night with history saying that there were burn in their premises. Renuka 43 years has 49 percent burns and Nivedha who is 20 years has 23 percent burns. Both of them are in critical state. We have all facilities to provide treatment and we can’t say about mental status of patient. Both of them are in critical condition. They are conscious right now. We can tell about their chances of survival only after 48 hours. 

Dr Vasantha Mani, Dean KMC Medical College to The Quint 

Though the family refuted any claims of the girl sharing a rapport with the man, the man allegedly claims they were in a relationship and were planning to get married.

An engineering graduate, Indhuja was reportedly working in a company for the last few months. However, she hasn't been going to work in the last one month, allegedly because of Aakash's stalking.

Indhuja’s uncle told media persons, “He’s been stalking her for a month. My brother went abroad for some work. Perhaps knowing this, this man came home last night. They didn’t open the door. But he said he just wants to talk to her. He then poured the petrol on the girl and the mother and burned them and ran away.”

(With inputs from The News Minute)