Two held for torching coal truck near Ghugus opencast mine; four named in case

The Local Crime Branch (LCB) has arrested two men in the case of a coal-carrying truck being set on fire at Ghugus in Chandrapur district. Four people have been named in the case so far.

At around 10 pm on September 29, 2026, unidentified persons stopped a Mahindra coal truck, registration MH 34 CQ 3385, near the Ghugus opencast mine in the Ghugus police station area. Petrol was then poured on the truck and it was set on fire.

The truck driver, Ramakant Babulal Singh, had lodged the complaint. He is 35 years old and a resident of Nakuni in Behari tehsil of Shahdol district, Madhya Pradesh. On his complaint, a case was registered at Ghugus police station under Sections 326(F), 126(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. On receiving news of the incident, police and a fire brigade team reached the spot immediately and put out the fire.

Considering the seriousness of the matter, the LCB team investigated closely on the basis of confidential information and technical analysis. During this probe, police arrested Khurshid alias Fardeen Ikram Sheikh and Samsher Mehboob Sheikh. Khurshid is 26 years old and lives in Shastrinagar Ward No. 1 in Ghugus. Samsher is 29 and lives in Amrai ward in Ghugus.

Two more names have emerged during intensive questioning, and their involvement in the incident has been reported. They are Irfan Sheikh, a resident of Shriram ward in Ghugus, and Aftab Nafis Sheikh, a resident of Amrai ward. The two arrested accused have confessed to setting the truck on fire together. Both have been handed over to Ghugus police for further investigation.

The preliminary investigation has found that the plot was hatched over a grievance related to work and employment.

The action was carried out under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Ayush Nopani and Additional Superintendent of Police Ishwar Katkade. LCB Police Inspector Amol Kachore led the team. The team included Sub-Inspectors Vinod Bhurle and Sunil Gaurkar, and police constables Satish Avdhare, Imran Khan, Lalu Yadav, Sandeep Kamble and Hiralal Gupta, along with police personnel Kishor Wakade and Shashank Badam. Kartik Khanke, Animesh and Gunwant of the cyber police station also took part in the operation. Ghugus police are conducting further investigation into the case.