An Indian Navy sailor working in Coimbatore, was burnt alive in a forest area near Palghar, Maharashtra on Friday night and he died on Saturday. 

He, native of Ranchi, was last spotted in Chennai airport on the night of 30 January, after he arrived from Ranchi via Hyderabad in a Indigo flight.

The deceased was identified as Suraj Kumar Dubey, 26, of Ranchi, Jharkhand. He was attached to INS Agrani, a Navy training establishment at Coimbatore.

Police suspect that he could have been abducted outside Chennai airport and kept in an unknown location in Chennai or its suburb as his last phone location was Otteri near Vandalur in Chengalpattu district. He was later taken to Maharashtra where he was set on fire by the suspects.  

The abductors allegedly tied his hands and took him to the top of a hillock at Vevji forest where he was set on fire after dousing him with petrol. 

Police who are familiar with the case noted that he arrived at around 9.45 pm on January 30 and went up to the Metro Station in the airport but returned as there was no service after 10 pm. He was later seen going towards Trisoolam railway station. 

It looks like he was trying to travel to the city or Central railway station on that night. But after that his whereabouts are not known. 

The villagers near  Palghar had seen him running with flames on his body and he was later taken to hospital where he died on Saturday.

The deceased in his last statement has told the police that he was kidnapped from Chennai airport at gunpoint and kept in a room in a forest area near Palghar.

Reports from Palghar also say that the abductors had demanded Rs.10 lakh and because his family had informed the police about it, he was set on fire by the abductors. 

Maharashtra police had sought help from Chennai police as the victim had been informed that he was abducted from Chennai. Airport police had browsed through CCTV footage and found him going upto Trisoolam railway station. No surveillance footage was available from Trisoolam railway station, sources said.