A 25-year-old man, who was brought in for questioning, allegedly set himself afire in Chandrayangutta police station and sustained severe burn injuries.
The incident took place around 8.40 p.m. on Monday night. The victim, identified as Shabbir, a resident of Ghazi-e-Miilat Colony in the Old City, was brought in for questioning after he allegedly snatched a phone from a man who was riding pillion on a two-wheeler near the Chandrayangutta Crossroads between 7 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.
According to Chandrayangutta Inspector of Police Rudra Bhaskar, two men had stopped their two-wheeler near the Chandrayangutta Crossroads to talk on the phone. Shabbir allegedly approached them, snatched the phone away and then tried to flee. In the confusion, the pillion rider fell off the two-wheeler. Soon, locals caught Shabbir following which the two-wheeler riders took Shabbir to the police station.
“When we started questioning him, we realised he was intoxicated. The phone which he had with him was not the one which was snatched from the complainants. It was a phone which was reported as stolen three days ago from Kumarwadi. We let him go, after which he doused himself in petrol and came to the station. We are yet to ascertain where he got the petrol from. It could be from a motorcycle,” Mr. Bhaskar said.
He added that as soon as Shabbir set himself ablaze, Detective Inspector Prasad Varma and constable Sai Kiran rushed to put out the flames. In the process, they too sustained burns on their hands.
“Shabbir was moved to the Osmania Hospital and has sustained 40% burns,” Mr Bhaskar said.
