Vehicles seized by police go up in flames at Virar

The exact number of the vehicles gutted is not yet known. Pics/Hanif Patel

Dozens of vehicles seized by the police were burnt on Thursday afternoon, after a suspected short circuit caused a fire at Kaner police beat chowky, in Virar east. According to police sources, most of these vehicles were seized in the past few years by the Virar police in various crimes, and had been kept in the premises of Kaner police beat, near the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.

Three fire brigade vehicles and water tankers from the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation took two hours to douse the fire. "The reason behind the fire is not clear, but it is suspected that it was caused due to a short circuit in the transformer situated near the parking lot," said a police official.

The vehicles gutted include cars, motorcycles, small tempos, trailers, three-wheelers and several cars involved in accidents. An electric transformer station has been installed close to the police beat premises, and is surrounded by bushes. "A spark from a short circuit spread in the police beat courtyard immediately," said another officer. "The exact number of burnt vehicles is not known yet. We are investigating," said Jayant Bajbale, SDPO (Arnala Division), from Palghar district.

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