Mumbai Crime: Duo arrested for setting 24 vehicles ablaze in Wadala

The vehicles that were torched in Vijay Nagar. Pictures/ Anurag Kamble

The Wadala TT cops have arrested 2 persons for torching 24 vehicles at Antop Hill on August 8. One of the accused had asked for a motorbike from his friend. After his friend had refused to hand him a bike, the accused, with the help of his friend, set 22 bikes and two cars on fire. According to the cops, the accused is a history-sheeter and wanted to spread fear among the locals through this act.

On August 8, 2019, between 2.45 am to 3 am, vehicles that were parked on at Vijay Nagar were seen on fire. The Wadala TT cops who were on patrol saw the fire and rushed to the spot. They also managed to remove over 50 vehicles from the spot. Before dousing off the fire, 24 vehicles were burned, which included 2 cars and 22 bikes.

The Wadala TT cops along with the arrested accused

On the basis of complaints from the vehicle owners, Wadala TT cops had registered an offence against an unknown person under IPC section 435 (Mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to the amount of one hundred or (in case of agricultural produce) ten rupees). Senior Inspector Rajendra Sangle had formed a team under Inspector Santosh Kokare, comprising of Assistant Inspector Pradeep Gite, Bhaskar Jadhav and sub-inspector Vishnu Tone.

During the investigation, cops questioned the people whose vehicles were torched. They asked them if they had any kind of enmity, quarrels or arguments with any of the residents. Out of the 24 people who were questioned, 5-6 of them confirmed having issues with someone or the other from the area.

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"We then contacted those persons and also listed them as suspects in the case. During questioning, a certain 23-year-old man was not divulging accurate information regarding his whereabouts at the time of the crime," said an officer from Wadala TT police station. "We began suspecting him even more and decided to question him in detail," added the officer.

After brief questioning, the man confessed to torching the vehicles with the help of an associate. The cops then arrested Faiyaz alias Faiz Ajimulla Qadri (23), a local resident and Akshay Kamble (23), a resident of Shelu, Karjat. Both had cases of theft filed in their name. "We have arrested both the accused on the basis of the information received during interrogation as well as from our informers. Apparently, they committed this crime due to a petty reason as well as to spread fear among the people," said DCP (zone 4) Dr. Saurabh Tripathi.

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