Delhi: Man sets a series of vehicles on fire

NEW DELHI: Multiple police teams in south and southeast Delhi are on the lookout for a man who allegedly set more than a dozen vehicles on fire in Madangir village, the DDA flats nearby and Saket during the early hours of Tuesday.

No casualties were reported in the incident. The destruction, noticed only in the morning by the locals, was done by one man, who was captured on CCTV camera. DCP (south) Vijay Kumar confirmed the incident.



In the footage accessed by TOI, a man, probably in his 20s, is seen walking through a lane in Madangir village. The camera shows the time as 2:24am. The suspect, wearing a blue shirt and grey trousers, is seen walking up to a motorcycle parked next to a house. The man then unplugs the tube connected to the fuel tank, takes out petrol and sprinkles it on the motorcycle. He takes out a matchbox and tries to set it on fire. He fails in the first attempt.

After looking around, he lights up a second matchstick and sets the motorcycle on fire before running away. He is seen coming back to check the vehicle after which he runs out of the camera frame. At least four cars and 10 two-wheelers were found charred in the nearby areas the next day.

Ratan Prakash, a resident of Madangir, said they only got to know in the morning what had transpired. “More than one person could be behind this as vehicles were destroyed in nearby areas too. We are trying to identify the person from the footage,” Prakash said.

Investigators said forensic teams had collected samples and the footage was being shared with informers.

Cops are also looking for links between the people whose vehicles were destroyed. The teams are scanning dossiers of local criminals who could possibly be behind the incident, an officer said.