27 bikes, tempo gutted in fire started by drunk man

A 25-year-old man allegedly set vehicles on fire in a slum near Parvati area of the city in the wee hours today in which 27 bikes and a tempo were gutted, the police said.

However, nobody was injured in the incident.

The man, identified as Nilesh Patil, was arrested this afternoon under relevant sections of the IPC.

As per the information given by a Dattawadi Police Station official, the incident occurred between 1 am and 1:45 am when a two-wheeler was set on fire in the Janata Vasahat locality in Parvati area, which soon spread and engulfed other vehicles parked in the proximity.

"After a major fire broke out in the area engulfing the vehicles, people living in the vicinity alerted fire brigade and police and the fire was doused subsequently. The total of 27 bikes, a tempo, and two bicycles gutted in the arson," the official said.

He said the police picked up Patil on suspicion and during interrogation he "confessed to" having committed the crime in an inebriated condition.

There has been a spurt in the incidents of setting vehicles on fire in various parts of the city and the reason behind most of such cases was found to be a personal enmity.

In June 2015, 85 vehicles, mostly two-wheelers from six different residential societies and a commercial building in Sinhgad Road area, were set on fire.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)