Man, on his way to farmers’ protest, dies after car catches fire at Tikri border

Raj hailed from Punjab’s Dhanaula and was sleeping in his car when it caught fire (Source: Twitter/Raakhi Jagga)

A 65-year-old man, who was on his way to join the farmers’ protest at Tikri Border, died after his car caught fire on Saturday night. Police said the deceased, Janak Raj, was a mechanic and had joined his farmer friends to go to Delhi.

Raj hailed from Punjab’s Dhanaula and was sleeping in his car when it caught fire. The incident took place at Najafgarh road flyover in Bahadurgarh where Raj and his friends were resting at night.

Superintendent of Police (Jhajjar) Rajesh Duggal said, “The farmers told us that they stopped at Bahadurgarh at 11:30 pm because one of their tractors needed repairing. After some time, Raj went to sleep inside his Swift car. Around 1:30 am, the car caught fire and the man died while he was sleeping”

Raj’s friends – Harpreet, Gurpreet, and Gurjant tried to douse the fire and had also called the police but their friend died inside the car.

Police said they inspected the spot and don’t suspect any foul play.

The Jhajjar Police posted a tweet on Sunday, saying “There was a short circuit inside the car which led to the fire. We spoke to the farmers, they said they were sleeping in their tractors when the car caught fire. They also tried to help douse the fire.”

The local crime team also inspected the spot and have collected samples. Police said they will look into the matter.

The family of the deceased has been informed, they are on their way to Bahardurgarh.

© The Indian Express (P) Ltd