Delhi house fire: Man found dead, posted suicide video before incident

A 64-year-old man was found dead in a fire-swept house in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar on Saturday, police said, claiming it to be a case of suicide.

The deceased, they said, shared a suicide note on WhatsApp before dying.

Vijay, the deceased, had been living alone as a tenant in the Old Shahpura area for around five years, the police said.

An incident of fire was reported at around 3.26 am on Saturday from the area.

Four fire tenders put out the blaze. When the blaze was brought under control, a severely burnt male body was found inside, the police said.

The body was identified by Prakash Chauhan, a resident of Subhash Nagar, according to police.

During the preliminary inquiry, the police found that Vijay had allegedly shared a WhatsApp message described as a suicide note and uploaded a video on YouTube in which he indicated that it was his last video.

In the video, the man said he was taking his own life and that no one should be blamed for his decision. He also addressed his daughter, saying that he loved her and would miss her.

He said that he was setting himself on fire so that his family would not have to bear the stress of his cremation. He expressed a wish that his ashes be dispersed in the Yamuna by his daughter.

Police said Vijay was a divorcee and used to create and upload vlogs on YouTube.

The circumstances surrounding the death are being investigated.

The body has been preserved at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for post-mortem examination, the police said.