Arson cases up this year, cops on toes

PUNE: Since the year began, as many as 26 cases of arson were registered in the city. Police data revealed that youngsters were involved in most of the cases, among which seven happened to be minors.On July 9, around 28 vehicles were torched in a Parvati slum making it the most grave incident since January, besides similar cases of vehicles being set ablaze in the city.According to the data, maximum number of cases have been registered under Sangvi police station, while Division IV remained the most notorious area (see box) where such cases were registered in almost all police stations.As per senior police officials, such acts were mostly committed by people under the influence of alcohol. While police admits that it is difficult to prevent such crimes, their frequent occurrence has exposed the vulnerability of lakhs of vehicles parked along the roadside every night.The CCTV surveillance network has helped the police solve most of these cases this year. Police arrested seven juveniles involved in the crime, while three of the accused are already behind the bars.Among the arrested persons, most turned out to be youngsters, said Deepak Sakore, deputy commissioner of police in-charge of Zone IV. “The crimes are motivated by revenge or rivalry. But, if one vehicle catches fire, all those in the vicinity are brought into its fold. Interestingly, we have not seen any repeat offenders of such crimes,” he said, explaining that most cases have been reported from congested residential colonies of middle-class and lower middle-class families.Police commissioner Rashmi Shukla has appealed the citizens to share information and leads to unravel the pending cases too. “We are trying out some strategies to prevent such offences. However, citizens must come forward to report any information that they may be related to the crimes,” she said.