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3 days after staffers set Armyman’s car on fire, hotel owner still at large
The staff of his hotel allegedly set an Army Major’s car on fire in the wee hours of Monday after the man asked them to turn down the music volume.
LUCKNOW Despite three days of search, the Lucknow police unit has not been able to arrest the owner of Hotel Milano and Cafe in the Gomti Nagar area, who is the key accused in an arson case. The staff of his hotel allegedly set an Army Major’s car on fire in the wee hours of Monday after the man asked them to turn down the music volume.
Following the episode, it was found out that cafe owner Rahul Sharma was operating the commercial establishment in a residential area on a residential plot. Therefore, on Tuesday, Lucknow Development Authority authorities sealed the cafe building. Meanwhile, a police team has been sent to Delhi to find Sharma as his last location was traced in the national capital, said a senior police official.
For the unversed, Army Major Abhijeet Singh, who lives near the hotel, had requested the hotel management to turn down the music around 11 pm on Sunday as his two-year-old son was not well. When the hotel staff didn’t comply to his request, the Major called the police. Subsequently, the hotel management stopped the music but started blaring songs again just 20 minutes after the cops left.
It has been learnt that the cafe was hosting a birthday party on its terrace on the night in question. The music finally stopped after the Major lodged a second complaint. Soon after, seven-eight hotel staffers allegedly misbehaved with him and even threatened him with dire consequences. Later, around 3 am, Major Singh stepped out of his house upon hearing some noises and saw that his car, which was parked outside, in flames. On being informed, police reached the spot and doused the flames with the help of a fire tender.
Taking prompt action, five people were arrested on Monday on the basis of video footage from the Major’s residence. The footage showed two people breaking the window pane of the car and setting the vehicle on fire. The five men arrested have been identified as -- Shivam Pratap Singh, 25, Subham Singh, 28, Rishabh Singh (alias Krishna), 29, Saurabh Srivastava, 26, and Rishabh Singh, 26. They have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 427 (mischief), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance), 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation).
However, Sharma left Lucknow immediately after realising that police are searching for him. According to police, Sharma is changing his location frequently to evade arrest. “A police team is making effort to find out his links with people he has been approaching to get legal aid in the matter,” said a senior cop requesting anonymity.
