Man targets one car in Delhi parking lot, ends up setting 22 on fire

The suspect, Yash Arora, drove to the facility run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in a Honda CRV in the early hours of Monday; and once there, he set fire to one of the wheels of a vehicle owned by an 18-year-old man who is dating Arora’s cousin, police said

A 23-year-old man was arrested on Monday for starting a fire — meant to target the vehicle of a man one of his cousins was in a relationship with — that ended up burning down 22 cars at a multilevel parking lot in west Delhi’s Subhash Nagar, said the police.

Charred remains of cars in a multi-storey parking lot at Subhash Nagar, in New Delhi, Monday. (HT Photo)

The suspect, Yash Arora, drove to the facility run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in a Honda CRV in the early hours of Monday; and once there, he set fire to one of the wheels of a vehicle owned by an 18-year-old man who is dating Arora’s cousin, police said. Even as he drove away, the fire spread from the vehicle, a Maruti Ertiga, to 20 other cars on the same floor — the lowest in the three-level parking lot.

“A total of 22 cars were burnt, out of which the registration numbers of 14 cars were legible. The owners of these cars have been traced,” said a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official, asking not to be named.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (west) Akshat Kaushal said a call regarding the fire was received at the Rajouri Garden police station at 4.30am.

A DFS official said that seven fire tenders were pressed into service and the blaze was doused at 6.10am.

“The impact of the fire was such that some vehicles were completely burnt, and merely the chassis number of the vehicles could be seen,” said an investigator aware of the matter.

A case under sections 436 (mischief by fire) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property has so far been registered, added the officer.

“CCTV cameras installed outside the parking facility were checked, and we found clues about the suspect,” said the investigator, adding that 15 cars were completely charred, while the rest were partially damaged.

In the footage, Arora was arriving in a Honda CRV, setting the tyre ablaze and leaving in the same car, said officers who have seen the clips.

“Our teams then obtained and scanned CCTV footage from nearby cameras and followed the car of the suspect. With the help of registration details and footage, the man was identified as Yash Arora, and that he lives with his family in Subhash Nagar,” the officer quoted above said.

During interrogations, Arora told police that he had a grouse against the owner of the Ertiga.

“He disclosed that one of his distant family members was in a relationship with the person, and he objected to it. Therefore, he decided to set the car on fire as an act of revenge,” the officer said, adding that these claims were yet to be verified.

Arora is a businessperson, said police officers.

An MCD spokesperson said that the police is investigating this matter, and the civic body is “waiting for an initial investigation report for further action”.

Arora will be produced before a court on Tuesday.