A 19-year-old youth and his 45-year-old father sustained severe burn injuries following a dispute over the youth taking a bike without permission. The incident occurred on May 1 in Pragathipura, Banashankari, in south Bengaluru.
According to police, an argument escalated when the father, Anand Doddamani, reportedly poured petrol on his son, Mallikarjun. At that moment, neighbours were cooking on the roadside, and flames from the fire caught the petrol-soaked youth, instantly setting him ablaze. The fire also engulfed Anand, as he was partially soaked in petrol.
Anand’s wife, Eeramma, 38, filed a complaint with the Kumaraswamy Layout police. She stated that she, her husband Anand, elder son Mallikarjun, and a 13-year-old younger son live in a rented house. Anand works as a mason, while Mallikarjun works as a labourer in tile fitting. She alleged that her husband is a habitual drunkard who frequently returns home intoxicated and picks fights with the family.
Recounting the incident, she said on the holiday of May 1, Mallikarjun took his father’s bike around 4 pm to visit a temple. This angered Anand, who called and scolded him for taking the bike without permission and accused him of roaming with bad boys. Mallikarjun reportedly made a video call to show he was at the temple.
However, the situation escalated later in the evening. When Mallikarjun returned home around 7.30 pm and sat down for dinner, Anand allegedly came home drunk, abused the family using foul language, and picked another quarrel, again accusing him of bad company. Despite the son trying to calm him down, Anand allegedly slapped him, shouting at him for speaking back.
Mallikarjun then stepped outside and sat on the bike in front of the house. Anand, still fuming, continued abusing him from inside. Around 9.30 pm, Anand came out again, demanded the bike key, assaulted his son, and allegedly threatened to kill him, accusing him of falling into bad company. When my son said, Go ahead, kill me, my husband got enraged and said, I will burn you, just watch, Eeramma stated.
She further revealed that a few days earlier, Anand had drained petrol from the bike and stored it in a bottle at home. In a fit of rage that night, he allegedly took the petrol, poured it on Mallikarjun, who was sitting on the bike outside, and flung it at him. As neighbours were cooking outside, when Anand threw petrol on his son, the fire spread to Mallikarjun due to the wind. In the chaos, petrol also splashed on Anand, causing him to catch fire and sustain burn injuries.
Hearing his screams, Eeramma rushed out, while neighbours poured water to douse the flames. The severely injured Mallikarjun was immediately rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital by Eeramma and others. A few neighbours also rushed Anand to the hospital. Both Anand and Mallikarjun are now undergoing treatment in the burns ward at Victoria Hospital.
Based on Eeramma’s complaint, the police have registered a case of attempt to murder and other appropriate charges. Doctors told police that Mallikarjun suffered around 40 per cent burn injuries, while Anand sustained around 18 per cent burns. Police are waiting for Anand to recover to take further necessary action.
