Man sets bike on fire over parking dispute, arrested

Mumbai: A week after 18 two-wheelers were found charred in a society in Thane’s Panchpakhadi area, the Naupada police arrested a 21-year-old resident who had allegedly set one of the bikes ablaze, over parking dispute, which gutted other motorbikes too.

The police said that the accused has previous cases against him and he has now been booked for attempt to commit culpable homicide, which attracts a prison term of seven years.

The accused was identified as Gaurav Palve (21), a resident of the same Hanuman Society, where the bikes were set ablaze. The police arrested Palve with the help of CCTV camera footage that had captured his suspicious movements at the spot. Following sustained interrogation, Palve spilled the beans and revealed about the incident.

“The accused wanted to set ablaze bike of one Prashant Bhoir as they had a dispute over parking of two wheelers inside the building premises. However, after the bike was set ablaze, the fire gutted other two wheelers too and in all 18 bikes were charred,” said D. Swami, deputy commissioner of police, zone I.

The police said that after so many two wheelers caught fire at a time, the fire rose to third floor of the building endangering the residents. The fire could be contained in time curbing a catastrophic incident as at least 100 motorbikes were parked in the parking, police said.

A case has been registered against Palve under section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) as per the IPC and further probe is underway.