A man talking to his girlfriend over phone set himself ablaze in an autorickshaw, injuring two co-passengers, in north-east Delhi’s Jyoti Nagar, the police said on Monday.

“Shivam from Ghaziabad’s Loni had some argument with his girlfriend over a phone call. He suddenly poured petrol on his body and set himself ablaze. Two other occupants of the vehicle sustained severe burn injuries with one of them being his cousin brother. He was carrying a bottle of petrol at that time,” said a police officer.

The incident took place on Sunday at 9 p.m.

A passer-by informed the police about the incident after which a team rushed to Loni Gol Chakkar, a senior officer said.

They rushed the injured persons to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital for treatment.

The police said 25-year-old Shivam received 60% burn injuries and his 24-year-old cousin Arjun sustained 20% burn injuries.

The third injured, 60-year-old Bhagwan Singh, was discharged after first aid, the officer added.

Narrow escape

The auto driver had a narrow escape as he left the vehicle and fled from the spot. Investigations revealed that just before the incident, Shivam was apparently speaking to a Kolkata-based woman, the police said.

A case has been registered and an investigation is under way to ascertain the reason behind Shivam’s extreme step, they added.