Vizag: Denied booze after closing hours, man torches outlet on Diwali day

VISAKHAPATNAM: Police arrested a man from Madhurwada-Kommadi area of the city on Sunday for setting a liquor shop on fire on Diwali day. Police said the accused, identified as Gummadi Madhusudhana Rao, had gone to the government-run liquor shop in Madhurwada to buy booze at around 9:30 pm on Saturday.

As the outlet was already closed, the staff refused to sell him liquor. There was also a heated argument between Rao and the liquor shop staff following which he left.

On Sunday evening, Rao returned to the shop with a can of petrol, splashed the flammable liquid in and around the shop and and torched it.

When the staff tried to stop him, he threatened to douse them with petrol, who then ran for their lives. By the time the fire could be doused, the shop was almost entirely burnt.