Dehradun, 14 May (HS). Doon police on Tuesday arrested an accused who committed arson in the slums located in Sunder Van under Selaqui police station area. The arrested accused is known to the original owner of the plot.
The accused had come to settle the matter after talking to the people living in the slums. When things did not work out, he committed arson along with his partner to get the plot vacated and to grab the settlement money. However, earlier the slums were vacated by paying money to some people.
On May 5, there was an incident of fire in slums near Bhauwala Sundar Van under Selaqui police station area. About 50 to 55 slums were burnt to ashes due to the fire. The said slums were built on a private plot in the Sundar forest area, where a similar fire incident took place in the year 2022. Feeling suspicious over both incidents occurring at the same place at a gap of two years, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Singh ordered a detailed investigation into all possible aspects related to the cause of the fire. During investigation, the police team obtained footage of persons in the car getting down from the car and setting it on fire on the side of a hut. On the basis of this, the SSP had registered a case against the suspects in Selaqui police station.
The police team formed to arrest the accused observed the CCTV footage installed at the incident site and nearby roads and gathered information about the accused and also activated the informer system. The investigation revealed that the arson incident was committed by two accused Rajendra Singh Bisht and Ravi Gusai. On the basis of sufficient evidence, the police team arrested Rajendra Singh Bisht (45), son of Kripal Singh, resident of Suddhowala police station Prem Nagar, Dehradun, along with the vehicle used in the incident from Dhulkot Tirahe. While the second accused Ravi Gusai, resident of Suddhowala Prem Nagar, Dehradun is absconding from his house.
This is the matter-
During interrogation, the arrested accused told that he is known to the original owner of the said plot. He had informed him about his plot in Selaqui and had sent him to negotiate with the people living in slums to get the plot vacated and for settlement. Money was also given for settlement. The accused had paid money to some people living in the colony and got their huts vacated. After not being able to talk to the people, the accused set fire to the slums with the intention of embezzling the settlement money, so that the plot could be vacated and the settlement money would not have to be paid.