‘Miffed with girls smoking’, 70-year-old sets Indore cafe ablaze

Indore, Oct 11 (PTI) A 70-year-old man set a cafe on fire in Indore apparently he was furious after finding girls smoking there, an official said on Wednesday. The senior citizen targeted the recreation venue on Tuesday night when it was closed, the official said.

The accused was taken into custody after he was identified through CCTV footage, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotia.

Without sharing his details, the official said that the accused had retired from the Department of Telecommunications.

“During initial interrogation, the accused said that he did not like girls smoking in this cafe, hence he got angry and set it on fire,” he said.

Police officials, however, said that the accused is repeatedly changing his statement. The exact reason for the arson can be determined only after the completion of the investigation, they said.

Though the senior citizen set the cafe, located under the jurisdiction of Lasudia police station, on fire when there was nobody inside, it was completely gutted. The owner suffered a loss of nearly Rs 4 lakh due to the arson, Dandotia said.

Dandotia said that a case has been registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc).

Another police official said that the cafe owner told the investigators that the accused had been roaming around his establishment for the last several days. PTI HWP ADU NR