Himachal: Man held for drunken torching of two govt buses

Dharamshala (HP), Nov 9 (PTI) A 34-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly setting two government buses on fire under the influence of alcohol in Baijnath town, police said on Sunday.

Superintendent of Police (Kangra) Ashok Ratan said the accused, Sushant, a resident of Bharwana Dhar village in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district, was taken into custody on Saturday based on technical evidence and CCTV footage.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to committing the act under the influence of alcohol and was arrested, the officer said.

The incident took place around 1:15 am on November 6, when a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus and a Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) bus parked near the Government Senior Secondary School in Baijnath suddenly caught fire and were reduced to ashes in minutes.

According to HRTC driver Sunil Kumar, who was resting in a nearby room with the conductor, he heard noises outside and stepped out to find both buses engulfed in flames. He suspected that an unidentified person had deliberately set the vehicles ablaze, police said.

A case was registered at Baijnath police station under Section 326(G) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

Ratan said investigations are underway to ascertain the motive behind the incident.

HRTC Vice President Ajay Verma has directed officials to strengthen security arrangements at bus stands and ensure regular night patrolling at parking areas.

Local MLA Kishori Lal said the state government is treating the matter seriously and assured that strict action will be taken against those responsible for damaging public property. PTI COR BPL SMV SMV ARB ARB