20160325 India 11 two-wheelers damaged in fire at Erandwane parking lotErandwane parking lot fire damages 11 vehicles
India Mar 25 2016 “Automobile & Railway”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
11 two-wheelers damaged in fire at Erandwane parking lotErandwane parking lot fire damages 11 vehicles
Updated: 2016-03-25-23:59
Five two-wheelers were gutted, while six others were damaged in an early morning blaze at Rajmayur Society’s parking lot in Erandwane, off Karve Road, on Friday. The blaze also damaged a flat on the first floor.
Residents suspect that miscreants deliberately set the two-wheelers, most of which belonged to students, afire. The students live in the society on rent, the Deccan Gymkhana police said.
This was the third case of vehicles being torched in the city’s parking lots in the last four days. On March 22, four two-wheelers were gutted and six others damaged in a fire in DSK Vishwa in Dhayari. On March 23, a man allegedly set afire four vehicles in his society at Hadapsar after a dispute with his neighbour.
Prachi Shah, whose flat was damaged in the fire, told TOI that everything was fine till her mother went to sleep around 1am. “Within 15 minutes, she woke up after sensing smoke and flames. Initially, she thought that someone had again lit a ‘Holi’ bonfire. But my mother got suspicious when she saw flames from our window and alerted us,” Shah said.
Shah added that by then, two rooms of her house were filled with smoke. “We immediately went out of the flat. My two dogs were in one of the rooms, but could not bark because of the thick smoke,” Shah said, who had recently renovated her flat. “The air-conditioner melted due to the heat generated by the fire and the television set in my flat was also damaged,” she added.
She said that she had recently renovated her flat and two rooms of her flat were blacked because of the fire.
By then, other residents in the building were also alerted. “We saw that the fire had engulfed five two-wheelers. It started spreading after the petrol tanks exploded. Six more two-wheelers were damaged in the fire,” she said, adding that the residents informed the fire brigade and began throwing water on the vehicles to douse the blaze. The fire brigade rushed to the spot and extinguished it completely.
Shah said that someone may have deliberately torched the two-wheelers.
“The destroyed vehicles mainly owned by the students staying in our building. One of the girl students used to park her scooter on the other side. But on Thursday night, she was told the slot was reserved. Around 9pm, she shifted her scooter, and it was damaged in the blaze,” Shah said.
The society had no watchman. Shah said that they had checked the footage from the CCTV cameras installed in the society but found nothing suspicious. Residents suspect the suspect may have entered the building from the back side.
Assistant inspector R B Panhale said that Sanjeev Mule, a resident of Rajmayur Society, has lodged a police complaint. against unidentified person. “We have registered an offence under Section 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) of IPC,” he said.
March 23: Twenty five year-old Babalu Korde, of Rajeshri Shahu society in Hadapsar, set his neighbour’s motorcycle on fire after a dispute. It spread rapidly and engulfed three other motorcycles in the parking lot. Korde was arrested after the neighbour, Mayur Sonawane, lodged a police complaint. Police said Korde had suspected that Sonawane had torn the seat of his motorcycle.
March 22: Four two-wheelers were gutted, while six others were damaged in an early morning blaze at the parking lot of Bhaskara Apartments in DSK Vishwa, Dhayari. Fire brigade personnel suspect that the blaze broke out when someone was trying to steal petrol from the parked two-wheelers.
March 22: A car and a two-wheeler were gutted after a fire broke out at Swargate police colony. The fire started due to a short-circuit and was doused within 20 minutes.
Web Source: THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/11-two-wheelers-damaged-in-fire-at-Erandwane-parking-lotErandwane-parking-lot-fire-damages-11-vehicles/articleshow/51555870.cms