Tenant’s burnt body found in GK house

NEW DELHI: A 60-year-old artist and artifact dealer was found burnt to death in mysterious circumstances on Friday in his apartment in Greater Kailash-I, southeast Delhi. Kapil Dev Arya was staying alone in the rented one-room set-up.
The incident was reported around 9.20pm on Thursday night when Arya’s neighbour smelled smoke. He called up the owners of the building saying that the top-floor was on fire.The owners alerted the police. Cops and fire officials rushed to the spot and controlled the flames in half an hour. They recovered Arya’s charred body which was 100% burnt.
Cops suspect the death happened due to an accidental fire which may have emanated from a cigarette or a candle.
“Arya drank often and would rarely speak to others. His power and water connection was cut because he had not paid his dues,” said T N Tiku, former president, M block resident’s association. He added that the ownership of the house was disputed and that Arya never paid any rent. He used to deposit a rent of Rs 185 per month at the high court.
Arya’s daughter and family allegedly told the police that he was murdered by the owners of the property as they wanted him to vacate it. Arya’s wife, Guddi, has filed a complaint against the landlord’s family in this regard. “The landlord’s family is being questioned. We are probing all the angles to ascertain if it was a case of accidental fire or murder,” said a senior police officer.