Senior IPS officer 'attacks' family, sets himself on fire

Ranjit Kumar Sahay, a senior IPS officer, sustained severe burns after he allegedly set himself on fire at his official residence in South Mumbai on Saturday.

The 52-year-old additional director general of police is in a critical condition in Bombay Hospital. The incident took place after 11pm at the first floor flat in Avanti Apartments on Narayan Dabholkar Marg in Malabar Hill.

Sahay’s wife Ralu, 45, told doctors at the hospital that he had tripped over a petrol can while holding a diya at home sometime after 11pm. He was going for a Ganesh pooja and aarti. His wife claimed that the petrol was kept for dry cleaning.

But police sources claimed the Addl DGP (Maharashtra state police housing and welfare corporation) attacked his family and threatened to burn them before setting himself on fire. He desperately wanted to have non-vegetarian food on Saturday. But his wife refused to cook meat as it was Ganesh Chaturthi.

“He left home at 8.30pm and went to a restaurant to have dinner. He returned around 11pm with a can of inflammable liquid,” a senior police officer said. “In a fit of rage, he started throwing the fuel on his wife and daughter. Scared for their lives, both locked themselves up in the bedroom. After a few minutes they saw smoke creeping into the room and they rushed out to find Sahay engulfed in fire.”

Sahay’s wife alerted her neighbours, other senior officers. They brought him to Bombay Hospital around 1am on Sunday. A casualty officer of the hospital informed the Malabar police station about the incident on Sunday afternoon.

Doctors at the hospital said Sahay had 55% superficial to deep burns. “His arms, scalp and complete upper half of the body till the navel is burnt. He has sustained deep respiratory burns in his nose, mouth and wind pipe. His oral cavity, neck and other parts of the body were covered in black soot,” a doctor from the hospital’s ICU said.

Sahay was conscious and speaking when he was brought in. His condition deteriorated gradually and currently he is in a critical and semi-conscious state.

He has been quarantined in ICU room number 30 on the third floor as there is a risk of contracting infection. “We have cleaned his burns thoroughly and applied aseptic bandages over his wounds,” Dr Vinay Jacobs, plastic surgeon at Bombay Hospital, said.

Sahay is finding it difficult to breathe as his nose, mouth and wind pipe are charred and swollen. “An endo tracheal tube has been inserted from his nasal cavity till the wind pipe. Moist or humidified oxygen is being supplied to his lungs through the tube,” Jacobs said. “Also, a tube has been inserted into his stomach to extract food content so that he does not choke on his food.”

Doctors said burn patients tend to deteriorate over some weeks. Sahay will have to be monitored for the next 48–72 hours. But his lungs might get affected in the next few days as he has inhaled combustible gas. A team of an intensivist and plastic and ENT surgeons are looking after him.

A 1986 batch IPS officer, Sahay has twins, aged 18. His son Som is a second year law student in Pune, and his daughter Nandini is a fashion designing student.

“We are investigating the matter. Sahay’s family members are in deep shock and unable to speak at the moment. Sahay is not in a physical position to give a statement to us,” Nisar Tamboli, DCP (Zone-II), said.

The police will register a case after recording Sahay’s statement. An entry has been made in the station diary of the Malabar Hill police station.

“I went to visit him in hospital but doctors weren’t allowing anyone to meet him. We will come to know what exactly happened once he is able to speak,” Sanjeev Dayal, DGP, Maharashtra, said.

(With inputs from Dayanand Kamath)

Past controversies related to RK Sahay
Last year, Sahay submitted a report to the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against the managing director of MSRTC for alleged irregularities in the corporation during his tenure. After his report, the ACB started an inquiry against the 1991 batch IAS officer Deepak Kapoor.

In 2011, Sahay was in the news when few policemen with the local arms division alleged that 15 policemen were put on bandobast duty at a government hospital to watch over Sahay’s ailing father-in-law who was being treated at the hospital.