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. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Police said a detailed probe is underway.

Delhi recorded a slight decline in crimes including murder, robbery, rape, and molestation, last year as compared to 2023, data shared by the Delhi Police said.

According to the data, a total of 504 cases of murder were reported in the national capital – down from 506 in 2023. Incidents of robbery also witnessed a decline from 1,654 to 1,510 in 2024. There were a total of 33 incidents of riots reported in Delhi – at least 10 down from last to last year.

Cases of crimes against women also witnessed a sharp decline last year.

A total of 2,076 incidents of rape were reported in Delhi as compared to the previous year’s 2,141 cases, 2,037 cases of molestation – at least 308 down from 2023, and 362 cases of eve-teasing were reported in 2024 compared to 281 in 2023, the data said.

29 incidents of dacoity were witnessed – the same as the previous year.

However, there was a sharp rise in some incidents such as fatal accidents and burglary. While a total of 1,504 fatal accidents were reported last year – as compared to 1,432 from 2023, at least 29,011 cases of burglary were witnessed – over 400 cases more from the previous year.

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Several incidents of gambling were reported in Delhi last year (3,556 incidents in 2024).

Apart from these, officials said that cases related to the Excise Act saw a sharp rise last year. At least 6,443 cases were reported as compared to 5,951 in 2023. This comes as many Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, were arrested in the excise policy cases.

Delhi saw a dip in most crimes in 2024.

Over 100 criminals arrested in 2024: Delhi Police

The Delhi Police arrested a total of 114 hardened criminals in 2024, including 40 parole jumpers and wanted offenders each. The other arrested criminals included 18 interim bail jumpers, nine proclaimed offenders, four carrying a reward on their head, and three non-bailable warrant evaders, officials said.

Additionally, six criminals were on the run for over 10 years, while three had evaded arrest for eight years.

“A year of tireless effort and precision, the Crime Branch adopted a multifaceted approach, combining advanced technological tools and traditional intelligence methods. With the use of technical surveillance, CDR and IPDR analysis, and informant networks, various dedicated teams traced and captured offenders who had evaded arrest for years,” Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastava, said.

New Delhi:

The body of a missing 22-year-old woman was found in a hotel in Delhi she had visited with a friend, who was also found dead on a railway track, earlier this week, police said on Sunday.

The cause of the woman’s death could not be immediately ascertained but the man (23) is suspected to have died by suicide, the police said, adding that a detailed probe is underway.

“Her body was found in a hotel on December 17. Following the recovery of her body, authorities conducted a postmortem examination,” a senior police officer from the outer district of Delhi was quoted as saying by PTI. 

According to Outer Delhi Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Amit Verma, the woman’s family alleged that she left her residence in Raj Park in Mangolpuri on December 14 but did not return.

The family claimed a person, who they could not identify, called the woman and she went along with him. After she did not return home, the family registered a missing person’s complaint at Raj Park police station on December 16, police added.

A day later, the woman’s body was found in a hotel in Paschim Vihar West. A preliminary probe suggested that she had visited the premises with her friend, the ADCP said. 

As the police began a search for the man, they found his body on a railway track in Gurugram on December 18. 

It is suspected that the man died by suicide after the woman’s death, police said. 

Mr Verma said an autopsy of the woman’s body failed to identify the cause of the death. The viscera samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for detailed analysis and a report is awaited.

The police are investigating the case from all angles, he added.