Hadapsar man, 25, arrested for allegedly setting father-in-law's auto-rickshaw on fire

A family dispute that began over sending a wife back to her marital home has allegedly ended in arson in Hadapsar. Police have arrested a 25-year-old man on the charge of setting his father-in-law's auto-rickshaw on fire. The rickshaw, parked on Canal Road in Shantinagar colony, was extensively burnt and suffered heavy damage.

The fire was reported at about 2 am on November 4. Police identified the arrested accused as Prashant Sanjay Shivsharan (25), who lives in Mahatma Phule colony in Hadapsar. Police described him as a habitual offender. Cases related to theft and causing physical hurt have been registered against him earlier.

The complaint was filed by Jitendra Ramchandra Raut (46), who lives in Shantinagar colony. According to his complaint, his daughter Nandini was allegedly harassed and beaten by her husband, Shivsharan. The dispute began there. Raut is himself an auto-rickshaw driver. His daughter is said to have repeatedly suffered because of Shivsharan's drinking habit, and Raut had therefore brought her to his home.

The two were married about two years ago. Raut told police that Shivsharan repeatedly demanded that Nandini be sent back to her marital home. The father refused, citing the alleged ill-treatment of his daughter.

According to the police investigating the case, the accused allegedly targeted Raut's parked rickshaw in the early hours of November 4. The rickshaw then caught fire and was heavily damaged.

Following Raut's complaint, Hadapsar police registered a case and arrested Shivsharan. The case thus came to police in this sequence: the father's refusal to send his daughter back to her marital home, the quarrel between son-in-law and father-in-law, and then the fire in the parked rickshaw before dawn. All the allegations against Shivsharan are as stated by the police and in Raut's complaint.