RAWALPINDI: A man doused his elderly parents in petrol and set them on fire in the Dhamial area of the city on Thursday.

Ahsan Shahzad, 32, a resident of Ashraf Colony in Dhamial, lodged an FIR with the police stating that he resided in the second floor of his house while his parents and elder brother Mohammad Wasim lived on the ground floor.

He said after hearing screaming from the ground floor at midnight, he came downstairs and saw Wasim fleeing from the house.

He said as he entered his parents` room, he found his father Shabir Ahmad, a retired government employee, and mother Riffat Bibi ablaze. He said people from the neighborhood also arrived at the scene and put out the flames. Rescue 1122 later shifted the victims to the Holy Family Hospital (HFH). The elderly man had suffered 65 per cent and his wife 85pc burns.

He said his elder brother had a quarrel with his parents on Wednesday morning after which his wife went to her parents` house.

The complainant told Dawn that Wasim, who is an electrician, was later arrested from his in-laws` house. A police spokesman said City Police Officer Syed Shehzad Nadeem Bukhari took notice of the incident and directed SP Saddar Division Ahmed Zanir Cheema to initiate legal action against the suspect. The spokesman also said the suspect had been arrested.