Duo arrested for setting 24 vehicles on fire at Antop Hill in Mumbai

The Wadala TT police have arrested two people for allegedly setting 24 vehicles on fire on Thursday in Antop Hill.

The Wadala TT police have arrested two people for allegedly setting 24 vehicles on fire on Thursday in Antop Hill.

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Twenty-two motorcycles, a four-wheeler and a tempo were charred in the fire at Vijay Nagar. The police said that Akshay Kamble, 23, and Faiyaz alias Faiz Qadri, 23, the accused, had set fire to a new motorcycle belonging to a friend of theirs because he had refused to let them drive it. However, the fire had spread and eventually engulfed many other vehicles.

They were arrested on Saturday.

The police said they received a call in wee hours of August 8 that someone was setting vehicles on fire in the Antop Hill locality. The police and fire brigade rushed to the spot and the fire brigade soon doused the fire, but by then the 24 vehicles were completely charred.

During investigation, some eyewitnesses told the police that originally only one motorcycle had been set on fire, but it had spread to nearby vehicles.

The police also received a tip-off that two people had been roaming suspiciously in the area on the night of the incident. Officers succeeded in identifying and apprehending them.

“We started the investigation with absolutely no clues. But our officers obtained information about the duo and arrested them. We have found that the duo had a past dispute with one of the motorists and they also wanted to create terror in the locality,” said Saurabh Tripathi, deputy commissioner of police, zone 4.