Petrol pump employees averted a major untoward incident with timely action after a bike-borne man allegedly set ablaze the petrol pump machine nozzle with a cigarette lighter while refilling petrol in bike in Katara Hills past midnight on Monday. Petrol pump staff shutdown the power supply and doused the fire using sand and fire extinguishers. The whole incident was caught on CCTV cameras installed at the petrol pump.

SHO of Katara Hills B S Prajapati said that the complainant Kripashankar Dwivedi, 33, a resident of Jharneshwar Colony in Misrod, works as manager in a petrol pump located in Spring Valley Colony in Katara Hills. He stated in his complaint that on Monday at around 10 pm, three accused approached the petrol pump to refill petrol worth Rs 100 in their bike. Meanwhile, one of the three accused took out a cigarette lighter and set ablaze the petrol pump nozzle.

Fire spread into the nozzle and the tank of the bike.

The petrol pump staff immediately shut down the power supply and doused the fire with sand and fire extinguishers. One of the bikers sustained burn injuries on his leg while controlling the fire while his two accomplices fled the spot. Prajapati said that the petrol pump employees nabbed the accused, who sustained burn injuries, and handed him over to Katara Hills police. The accused was identified as Vijay Singh (30) while his accomplices were identified as Bharat Gatkhane and Akash Goud. Prajapati said that the accused Bharat is a habitual offender of Bag Sewania area. He works as a mason while Akash works as a mechanic. The arrested accused Vijay works in a private job. It was suspected that the accused were in inebriated state and may have lighted the lighter to see petrol in the bike’s tank and the incident took place. The actual circumstances in which the incident took place and the intention of the accused would be clear after arresting the absconding accused. Search was on to nab them.