‘What I saw on Monday night will haunt me forever’

“When I first heard a noise from the first floor, I thought there was an argument in Induja’s family. But when I went upstairs, a tall guy was standing with a can in his hand. I recognised him as the fellow who had gone upstairs an hour ago and mistook him for a relative,” Ram Kumar told DTNext, recounting the horror he witnessed first hand. 

When he entered the house, the tall man, later identified as Akash, had already doused Induja with the oil from the can and her mother pleaded with Ram to take the man away. “The moment I asked him who he was, the man lit the lighter in his hand and set Induja on fire. All of us were shocked and Induja’s mother Renuka and her sister Nivedha tried to put out the fire, but they were immediately engulfed by the flames. I do not know how, but I too sustained fire burns in my hand and legs,” Ram Kumar said. 

Acting immediately, he alerted 108 and fire services and sent the victims to the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) hospital. “I have known Induja’s family for about eight years and all three children are studious and disciplined. I have witnessed Induja’s performance as a dancer in the past, but what I saw on Monday night will haunt me for the rest of my life,” he said. 

Meanwhile, as the news about the murder spread in the locality, residents of the area mobbed Adambakkam police station. Police, anticipating an untoward incident, had to lie to them that the accused had escaped from their custody, though he was kept inside the police station. However, the crowd did not relent and remained outside the station till evening. It led to a situation where the regular activities in the station came to a standstill and no one was allowed inside the police station. Others who came to lodge a complaint were asked to come back on Wednesday.