Garage fire in Nagpur's Kapilnagar guts 20 two-wheelers; ex-employee suspected
A pre-dawn fire at a garage in Bank Colony destroyed about 20 two-wheelers and damaged a nearby clinic, and police are looking for a former worker.
A fire broke out at a garage in Bank Colony, under the Kapilnagar police station limits in Nagpur, in the early hours of Friday, causing panic in the area. About 20 two-wheelers parked in the garage were burnt to ashes. The flames were so intense that a nearby clinic was also damaged. The accused has been named as Raju Mahendrakar.
The garage, named Divesh Honda Service, belongs to Satish Yadav, a resident of Baba Deep Nagar. Raju used to work in the same garage. Yadav is said to have sacked Raju about two months ago because of his drinking habit. It is alleged that Raju, angry over this, reached the garage at around 3 am on Friday and set it on fire.
The fire quickly spread to the two-wheelers parked in the garage, and about 20 vehicles were caught in it and burnt. The intense flames also damaged the clinic of Vikas Giri nearby. Kapil Nagar police reached the spot on receiving information.
During the investigation, police obtained footage from a CCTV camera installed at the garage. The footage shows a person behaving suspiciously around the garage. Police were searching for the accused on the basis of this footage and other leads. Official confirmation of the real reason for the fire and the accused's role will come only after the police investigation is complete.
Police have taken the matter seriously and have begun questioning people present around the garage. The CCTV footage is also being examined for activity before the fire. The garage owner is feared to have suffered heavy losses with so many two-wheelers burnt.
Police are also trying to establish whether the fire was set deliberately or whether there was some other cause. The full picture will become clear only after the investigation is complete.
