Textile labourer sets Surat factory on fire after owner refuses to lend him money

Sanjay Kumar Singh, the owner of Rudra Trading, allegedly suffered a loss of Rs 66.95 lakh as a result of the fire. The police said Sanjay Singh, a resident of the Adajan area and native of Bihar, learned about the fire at 2.30 am on November 18 when neighbouring factory owner Chandrakant called him. The fire brigade rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control within one hour.

On November 21, Sanjay Singh lodged a complaint against Prasad, a native of Bihar, with the Udhna police. The police booked Prasad under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita Act Section 326(g) (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house etc.) They arrested him from his house in the Udhna area on Friday evening and started a probe.

In his complaint, Sanjay Singh said Prasad had sought Rs 10,000 from his salary as advance, saying he had no cash for his daily expenses. Singh said he gave him Rs 500, told him to buy groceries and vegetables and asked him to return in one hour. When Prasad did not come back within one hour, Sanjay Singh locked the factory and went home, as per the complaint. He also said that when he reviewed the CCTV footage of the factory premises from that night a few days later, he saw Govind moving around suspiciously.

Talking to the Indian Express, Udhna Police Inspector S N Desai said, “The other factory workers had taken money from the owner and left for their native place. Govind was staying and working in the factory. After Sanjay Singh refused to give him Rs 10,000, Govind returned to the factory around 11 pm and found it locked from outside. He broke open the shutter lock and entered the factory. Inside, he collected all of his clothes and then set the building on fire before speeding away. The CCTV footage captured Govid entering and exiting the factory. We arrested him and are now questioning him in detail.”