Father Who Torched His Daughter and Son-in-Law to Death in Oak Forest Found Guilty of Murder

A grandfather who torched an Oak Forest apartment building seven years ago to kill his pregnant daughter, her husband and their 3-year-old son — because his daughter’s choice of husband offended him — has been convicted on three counts of first-degree murder.

Subhash Chander, 64, an angry, argumentative heavy drinker, now faces life in prison. He’s due in court April 16. A Cook County jury found him guilty on Thursday.

His daughter Monika Rani, 22, her husband, Rajesh Arora, 30, and their 3-year-old son, Vansh, died in the devastating fire at 15859 S. Le Claire Ave.

Chander, who’s from Chandigarh in northern India, took their lives because his daughter married beneath her station in India’s caste system and without his consent. Prosecutors said the “cultural slight” upset Chander.

More than 70 people were left homeless when the 36-unit building went up in flames. When firefighters arrived on the scene the night of Dec. 29, 2007, they saw residents of the apartment building jumping from balconies to escape the fast-moving fire.

“It could have been one of the largest homicides in American history but for the grace of God,” prosecutor Robert Milan said after charges, including murder, arson and intentional homicide of an unborn child, were first filed against Chander in January 2008. Several charges were dropped at trial.

A gas station attendant told investigators he saw Chander, who lived in an apartment across the street from his daughter, buying gasoline about two hours before the fire. Surveillance video at the gas station confirmed this. A witness told police he saw a man of Indian descent carrying a container that smelled like gasoline on the first floor of the apartment building.

Rani, who was five months pregnant, and Arora died of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to autopsy results. Their charred bodies were found in the rubble after the floors of the apartment building had collapsed.

Rani and her husband married at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago in Lemont. People there remembered her as “a nice kid.”

Though some relatives said Chander had a role in caring for his grandson, Vansh, others said there had been trouble between Chander and his daughter during her three-year marriage to Arora. They also said Chander was argumentative and a heavy drinker and his drinking often played a role in his conflicts with family. While in jail awaiting trial, he received treatment for cirrhosis of the liver.

Shortly after the fire, Chander was found at his apartment. In a trash bin, investigators found a plastic jug, with his name on it, partially filled with gasoline.

Chander told police that he had brought gasoline to his daughter that night and during an argument had spilled some, and then in his anger he had set the gas on fire and left. The evidence, however, showed that gasoline was spread around the building and that the fire was set while the family was asleep.

Chander came to the United States in 2000 with his family. He had worked at a Wendy’s in Tinley Park until his liver disease forced him to quit.

Oak Forest police had been called to his home several times in the past to deal with domestic disputes fueled by his drinking. Chander also was convicted of shoplifting for stealing a bottle of whiskey from a grocery store. In 2003, he was investigated for a suspicious fire in his own home following an argument with son, but charges were never filed.

Justice has been a long time coming. Subhash Chander, who grew a long beard while behind bars, has been in Cook County Jail since Jan. 1, 2008, awaiting trial.

Oak Forest police investigator Bob Frias, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, said no matter how much time has passed, he will never forget the day of the fire.

“I remember seeing the sheer devastation, the sense of loss in people’s eyes,” Frias said. “And that was before we realized three people died. It could have been dozens more.”

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