Son held for killing parents by setting house on fire

New Delhi: Delhi Police on Sunday said they have arrested a man involved in killing his parents after setting their residence on fire in Moti Nagar area of west Delhi.

Cops claimed that the accused man is mentally unstable and was nabbed from a bus stop in Moti Nagar.

The accused was identified as 40-year-old Santosh, whose elderly parents, Chedi Lal (70) and Laxmi (62) were charred to death in the early hours of Friday after he set their house on fire before fleeing the spot.

Santosh was reportedly found at the bus stop wandering aimlessly.

"After the incident, he fled the spot and was roaming in the Capital like a vagabond," said a police officer.

When asked why the accused committed the ghastly crime, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vijay Kumar stated that the accused is suspected to be mentally unstable.

"He had regular quarrels with his parents and on the day of the incident, the accused decided to char his parents to death," Kumar said.

"In the fire that engulfed their residential building, a tenant, Vinay also sustained burn injuries and he alleged that landlord's son caused the fire and escaped. The fire broke out at 3.30am, after which three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The elderly couple was taken to the nearby hospital where they were declared dead on arrival," the DCP added.

Police said they are also investigating into claims that the accused used to beat his parents and forcibly snatch money from them. He used this money on drugs and alcohol, they added.

In the wee hours of Friday, a massive fire broke out at the ground floor residence of Chedi Lal and Laxmi at Sudarshan Park area of Moti Nagar.

Two to three fire tenders were rushed to the spot to extinguish the fire, and the elderly couple – both horribly burned – was taken to a nearby hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival.

Santosh had reportedly locked the main door, which led to a delay in rescuing his parents. The door to Vinay's room was closed and the other door was most likely shut by Santosh after lighting the fire.

Moreover, Laxmi had trouble walking and the elderly couple had no time to escape as the fire spread all over their residence, leaving the two stuck inside to die.