Scolded for stealing, teen burns father alive in Uttar Pradesh

Faridabad: A 14-year-old boy set his father on fire after being scolded on suspicion of theft in their rented home in Faridabad’s Ajay Nagar Part 2 on Tuesday, police said.

According to a complaint filed by their landlord Riyazuddin, at around 2 am, he suddenly woke up to 55-year-old Mohammad Aleem’s screams.

“When I tried to go to the terrace, where Aleem lived with his son in a rented room, I found that the door was locked. With the help of a neighbor, I reached the terrace and saw that the room was on fire, its door was locked from outside and Aleem was screaming from inside,” he said.

As soon as the door was opened, Aleem died on the spot due to severe burns while his 14-year-old son escaped by jumping into someone else's house, Riyazuddin claimed.

According to the police, Aleem had confronted his son for stealing money from his pocket.

It is suspected that the teenager, in a fit of rage, poured some inflammable substances on his father and set him on fire, a senior police officer said, adding that the boy is in custody and being questioned.

In September last year, Aleem, a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur, came to Faridabad along with his son and rented a room on the terrace of Riyazuddin’s house in Ajay Nagar Part 2.

He used to collect donations for religious places and sell mosquito nets and other items in the weekly markets. His wife died many years ago and his four married children were living separately, the police said.