Sacked employee sets restaurant on fire in Pilibhit

Pilibhit: A 35-year-old man, Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Ekta Nagar Colony in Pilibhit city, was booked by police on Sunday night for allegedly setting fire to a restaurant at the city centre, police said on Monday.The incident occurred around midnight on March 14 when the restaurant owner, Robin Mishra of Sungarhi locality, was closing the establishment for the day. According to the complaint, Kumar, who had recently been dismissed from his job at the restaurant due to alleged alcoholism and misbehaviour with customers, entered the premises in an inebriated state, poured petrol on the sofa sets and set them on fire. The blaze quickly spread, destroying furniture, electrical appliances, and food and beverage stock. The accused fled the spot after allegedly threatening the owner with further consequences. SHO of Pilibhit Kotwali police station, Satyendra Kumar, said a case was registered against the accused under BNS sections 326(f) (mischief by fire or explosive substance), 352 (intentional insult), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation).In a separate incident on Monday afternoon, a fire broke out at the house of Jumma Ansari in the Khushimal locality of Pilibhit while family members were preparing namkeen on a wood-fired furnace for commercial sale.Officials, including CO city Deepak Chaturvedi, chief fire officer Anurag Singh and SHO Sungarhi Naresh Tyagi, reached the spot with fire tenders and brought the blaze under control after more than an hour. Household goods were damaged, but no casualties were reported. During inspection, police found four filled domestic LPG cylinders stored in the house. The district supply office sent a team to verify their authenticity.Police said the fire started when sparks from the wood furnace ignited a polythene-sheet shed and later caught an edible oil container, triggering a larger blaze.District supply officer Vikas Kumar said, "Action would be taken under the Essential Commodities Act if the LPG cylinders were found to be stored for black marketing."