Sivaganga
Enraged after he was denied salary, a cleaner has set fire to two air-conditioned luxury buses of a private travel company, operating long distance bus services between major towns in south India.
Police said the buses operated between Devakottai – Bengaluru and Devakottai – Chennai were parked in a shed at Karuthaoorani near Devekottai on return to Devakottai on Saturday afternoon when the cleaner poured diesel inside in one of the buses and set it on fire.
After the bus caught fire, the flames spread to the other bus and both reduced to skeletons within minutes. Both the buses were gutted before Fire and Rescue Services personnel reached the spot and put out the fire, police said.
Police identified the cleaner as M. Senthil Kumar (52) from Mookandapalli near Hosur. He had been working in the travel company for about eight or nine months and complained non-payment of salary for 22 days, police said.
Police said CCTV footages showed the accused buying one litre of diesel in a pet bottle in a nearby petrol bunk before setting fire to the bus. The driver had gone for lunch when the cleaner got into the Bengaluru – Devakottai bus threatening to commit self-immolation for non payment of salary.
However, after getting into the bus, he poured the diesel inside the bus and set it on fire before running out, police said. He tried to run away when the driver P. Murugan (37) caught him and handed over to the police.
Acting on the driver’s complaint Devakottai town police arrested him.
Muthukumar, Inspector of Police, said the accused confessed to the police that he was in mental agony after he was not paid wages for 22 days. Non-payment of salary appeared to be the only provocation, he said.
The accused was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody, he added.
