CHENNAI: A 34-year-old man committed suicide by setting himself ablaze at his house in Maduravoyal on Wednesday, two days after he was abducted and forced to marry the woman he had divorced two years ago. Police later registered a case against Dhamu and Ilaiyaraaja for kidnapping and abetment of suicide of their former brother-inlaw M Prithiviraj and launched a hunt for them.
An investigation officer said the deceased Prithviraj, who worked in a lathe workshop at Padi near Ambattur, married a woman named Sathya seven years ago and the couple were blessed with a son who is now six years old. A few years ago, the two separated after some differences of opinion and were granted divorce by the court concerned two years ago.
A few months ago, the officer said, Prithviraj’s parents decided to get him married to another woman. Sathya’s brothers Dhamu and Ilaiyaraaja came to know of this, came to Prithviraj’s house on Monday night, bundled him into a car and drove away. His worried parents lodged a complaint with the Maduravoyal police who registered a case and launched a search. On Tuesday night, Prithiviraj himself returned home.
On Wednesday morning, Prithviraj doused himself with petrol and set himself on fire inside his residence. His family members and some neighbours rushed him to the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital (KMCH) where he died without responding to treatment in the evening.
Earlier, in his dying declaration, Prithviraj told police he was kidnapped and taken to Pattipulam near Mamallapuram where he was forced to wed his ex-wife Sathya in a temple and made to stay with her in a house in the village.
Prithviraj said he managed to escape from the house and managed to reach his Maduravoyal residence. Distressed over the entire episode, he remained sleepless through the night and set himself afire the next morning, the declaration said. Police are now looking for Dhamu and Ilaiyaraaja in this connection.