Unable to repay debt, Delhi man tries to commit suicide

Deep in debt, a 43-year-old property dealer in Delhi's Kanjhawala area tried to commit suicide by setting his car on fire so that it would look like an accident and his family could get the insurance claim for his death, police said on Tuesday.

However, the man, Deepak Dabas, stepped out of the car as soon as the fire began to engulf the vehicle. After this, he walked all the way to Haridwar and was brought back home by police, they said.

On May 15, police received information about a burnt car in Kanjhawala area. Dabas, the owner of the car, was found missing. His family members lodged a complaint alleging he had been abducted, a senior police officer said.

During preliminary investigation, it was found that the victim had taken loans to the tune of over Rs 1 crore, the police said.

"On May 19, it came to police's notice that Rs 2,500 had been withdrawn using Dabas' debit card from an ATM in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) P K Mishra said.

On Monday, police got a tip-off that the victim was in Haridwar and had boarded a train for Delhi in the morning. He was found travelling on the train and brought back to Delhi, he said.

Dabas told police during interrogation that he used to borrow money and further lend it on higher interest, Mishra said.

He planned to end his life in a way that would look like an accident so that his family could get the insurance claim for his death, the officer said.

Dabas poured diesel on his car and set it on fire. As soon as the fire started to spread, he stepped out of the vehicle. Then, he walked for five days to reach Haridwar, the police said.

He decided to head back home after he ran out of money, they said.