2 weeks Ago
1 2 Pune: Janardan Humbardikar (56), the driver of a staff minibus for Vyoma Graphics in Hinjewadi, was arrested on Thursday on the charge of setting the vehicle afire on March 19, leaving four staffers dead and six others injured. The arrest was made soon after he was discharged from hospital. "Humbardikar was formally arrested on Thursday evening.
He was produced before the court and remanded to police custody till Saturday (March 29)," deputy commissioner of police Vishal Gaikwad of the Pimpri Chinchwad police told TOI. The Pimpri Chinchwad police initially registered a case of accidental death. During investigations, however, it was revealed that it was not an accident but the driver's pre-planned plot.
Humbardikar worked with Vyoma Graphics, the printing press that owned the staff minibus, since 2006. The Hinjewadi police said he confessed to setting the minibus afire as he was upset over not getting as much salary/bonus as other company staffers during Diwali. He also nursed a grudge against some employees, regular travellers, for asking him to do work beyond his driving job and not letting him have his 9am breakfast on time, considering that he was diabetic, the police said.
He stole highly inflammable benzene chemical (normally used in printing presses) from the firm a day before the incident. "He also collected a few pieces of cloth and kept the two items under the driver's seat. On March 19 morning, while starting from his residence in Warje, he bought a matchbox from a paan kiosk.
He wanted to execute his plot in front of the company's office. But, after crossing the Phase-I circle, he slowed down the minibus on a slight downward gradient. The minibus slowed down, and he picked up the benzene bottle and sprinkled the chemical on the cloth pieces before setting them ablaze.
The resultant burst of flames also caught the lower parts of his trousers, and he jumped out of the driver's cabin, leaving the vehicle to proceed 200m before crashing into a footpath," the police said "Humbardikar suffered 10-15% burns in the incident. He was undergoing treatment in the ICU of the Ruby Hall Clinic and discharged from the hospital on Thursday. His burn wounds are still raw," senior inspector Kanhaiyya Thorat of the Hinjewadi police told TOI.
While seeking Humbardikar's police custody remand, assistant public prosecutor Vijaysinh Jadhav told the court that it was a serious crime. The police wanted to investigate the exact reason behind the crime. The police also wanted to investigate the source of the material used by the accused, besides ruling out instigation angle into the crime.
JMFC V P Khandare remanded Humbardikar to police custody till March 29. Stay updated with the latest city news , Air Quality Index (AQI), and weather updates for major cities like Delhi , Mumbai , Noida , and Bangalore on Times of India ..
