Hyderabad:

A man, said to be in an inebriated condition, was arrested after he ignited a lighter and started a fire at a petrol pump in Hyderabad on Saturday evening, officials said. 

The incident took place around 7 pm when the accused, identified as Chiran, arrived at the petrol pump in the Nacharam area in a visibly drunk state, with a cigarette lighter in his hand. One of the employees at the petrol station, Arun, asked the accused if he was planning to light up the device. He, then, challenged and provoked Chiran to light it up if “he had the guts” to do so.

Reacting to this, the accused lit up the lighter while the employee was dispensing fuel in a scooter – resulting in a sudden burst of flames.

There are were around 10 to 11 people at the petrol pump, including two employees, when the fire was ignited.

A CCTV footage of the incident shows a chilling moment as a woman and a child standing near the fire made a narrow escape. All the other people standing at the petrol pump can be seen running away.

The police also arrested Arun and charged the duo with mischief by fire and explosives.

Both the accused, who hail from Bihar, will be presented in court, the police said.

“This dangerous act not only put lives at risk but could have caused a catastrophic explosion, especially in this crowded area with heavy traffic,” Inspector G Rudvir Kumar, Nacharam Police, said.

Mumbai:

A man driving in an inebriated state hit a woman and on-duty policeman with his SUV on a busy road in Khar, police said on Tuesday.

The police have arrested the accused, Hiten Desai, in connection with the accident that occurred around 7.45 pm on Sunday, an official said.

Hiten Desai, who was drunk at the time of the incident, was driving from Linking Road in Bandra, he said.

The accused first hit a woman who was standing with her husband near their two-wheeler and then proceeded to ram the SUV into an on-duty policeman who tried to stop him, the official said.

Hiten Desai did not stop the vehicle, but locals managed to intercept him after some distance and handed him over to the traffic police, he said.

The accused has been arrested under sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (endangering life), 353 (assault on public servant), 308 (culpable homicide) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Motor Vehicle Act, the official said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)