The blazing fire, which destroyed a five-storey electrical shop-cum-godown in central Bengaluru and burnt alive a man early on Friday morning, was started by the proprietor's friends to help him claim insurance, police say.
Narendra S alias Narendra Lal Chowdhary, the proprietor of Maya Electrical, was deep in debt as he was unable to repay Rs 1 crore he had borrowed from private moneylenders. He had rented the building (in pic) on BVK Iyengar Road, Chickpet, and was running the shop on the ground floor and using the upper floors as a godown. The moneylenders would often come to his house and shop, demanding the repayment.
Narendra got so upset at the frequent harassment that he decided to make his way out of it. He confided in his friends, Arun Kumar and Gajendra, and asked for a solution. The trio came up with the plan to burn the shop, after which Narendra can claim the insurance and repay his debt. Narendra had insured the shop for Rs 1.45 crore, a senior police officer said.
The trio worked the plan. Accordingly, Kumar and Gajendra went to the building around 2 am on Friday. They first disconnected the wires linked to the inverter batteries. They then interconnected the wires with other batteries in the shop and plugged them into a switchboard. The batteries exploded, triggering a blazing fire. Gajendra could not escape and was charred to death while Kumar suffered burns but managed to flee. He contacted Narendra, who admitted him to the Victoria Hospital, the officer said.
When police questioned Narendra about the fire, he gave unconvincing replies but revealed the truth later. He told the police how he had come down to Bengaluru from Rajasthan several years ago. He is presently residing in a rented house in Kurubarahalli.
Local politicians visited the place on Saturday and spoke to people living in adjacent buildings that were also damaged in the fire, and promised them compensation, the officer said.
Narendra S alias Narendra Lal Chowdhary, the proprietor of Maya Electrical, was deep in debt as he was unable to repay Rs 1 crore he had borrowed from private moneylenders. He had rented the building (in pic) on BVK Iyengar Road, Chickpet, and was running the shop on the ground floor and using the upper floors as a godown. The moneylenders would often come to his house and shop, demanding the repayment.
Narendra got so upset at the frequent harassment that he decided to make his way out of it. He confided in his friends, Arun Kumar and Gajendra, and asked for a solution. The trio came up with the plan to burn the shop, after which Narendra can claim the insurance and repay his debt. Narendra had insured the shop for Rs 1.45 crore, a senior police officer said.
The trio worked the plan. Accordingly, Kumar and Gajendra went to the building around 2 am on Friday. They first disconnected the wires linked to the inverter batteries. They then interconnected the wires with other batteries in the shop and plugged them into a switchboard. The batteries exploded, triggering a blazing fire. Gajendra could not escape and was charred to death while Kumar suffered burns but managed to flee. He contacted Narendra, who admitted him to the Victoria Hospital, the officer said.
When police questioned Narendra about the fire, he gave unconvincing replies but revealed the truth later. He told the police how he had come down to Bengaluru from Rajasthan several years ago. He is presently residing in a rented house in Kurubarahalli.
Local politicians visited the place on Saturday and spoke to people living in adjacent buildings that were also damaged in the fire, and promised them compensation, the officer said.
The blazing fire, which destroyed a five-storey electrical shop-cum-godown in central Bengaluru and burnt alive a man early on Friday morning, was started by the proprietor’s friends to help him claim insurance, police say.
Narendra S alias Narendra Lal Chowdhary, the proprietor of Maya Electrical, was deep in debt as he was unable to repay Rs 1 crore he had borrowed from private moneylenders. He had rented the building (in pic) on BVK Iyengar Road, Chickpet, and was running the shop on the ground floor and using the upper floors as a godown. The moneylenders would often come to his house and shop, demanding the repayment.
Narendra got so upset at the frequent harassment that he decided to make his way out of it. He confided in his friends, Arun Kumar and Gajendra, and asked for a solution. The trio came up with the plan to burn the shop, after which Narendra can claim the insurance and repay his debt. Narendra had insured the shop for Rs 1.45 crore, a senior police officer said.
The trio worked the plan. Accordingly, Kumar and Gajendra went to the building around 2 am on Friday. They first disconnected the wires linked to the inverter batteries. They then interconnected the wires with other batteries in the shop and plugged them into a switchboard. The batteries exploded, triggering a blazing fire. Gajendra could not escape and was charred to death while Kumar suffered burns but managed to flee. He contacted Narendra, who admitted him to the Victoria Hospital, the officer said.
When police questioned Narendra about the fire, he gave unconvincing replies but revealed the truth later. He told the police how he had come down to Bengaluru from Rajasthan several years ago. He is presently residing in a rented house in Kurubarahalli.
Local politicians visited the place on Saturday and spoke to people living in adjacent buildings that were also damaged in the fire, and promised them compensation, the officer said.
Narendra S alias Narendra Lal Chowdhary, the proprietor of Maya Electrical, was deep in debt as he was unable to repay Rs 1 crore he had borrowed from private moneylenders. He had rented the building (in pic) on BVK Iyengar Road, Chickpet, and was running the shop on the ground floor and using the upper floors as a godown. The moneylenders would often come to his house and shop, demanding the repayment.
Narendra got so upset at the frequent harassment that he decided to make his way out of it. He confided in his friends, Arun Kumar and Gajendra, and asked for a solution. The trio came up with the plan to burn the shop, after which Narendra can claim the insurance and repay his debt. Narendra had insured the shop for Rs 1.45 crore, a senior police officer said.
The trio worked the plan. Accordingly, Kumar and Gajendra went to the building around 2 am on Friday. They first disconnected the wires linked to the inverter batteries. They then interconnected the wires with other batteries in the shop and plugged them into a switchboard. The batteries exploded, triggering a blazing fire. Gajendra could not escape and was charred to death while Kumar suffered burns but managed to flee. He contacted Narendra, who admitted him to the Victoria Hospital, the officer said.
When police questioned Narendra about the fire, he gave unconvincing replies but revealed the truth later. He told the police how he had come down to Bengaluru from Rajasthan several years ago. He is presently residing in a rented house in Kurubarahalli.
Local politicians visited the place on Saturday and spoke to people living in adjacent buildings that were also damaged in the fire, and promised them compensation, the officer said.