Sugar chief’s vehicle charred in mystery fire

In a bizarre incident, the official vehicle of sugar commissioner Vijay Singhal was charred beyond recognition from its rear side during the wee hours of Friday outside his residence at Sakhar Sankul in Shivajinagar. Although no one was injured, Singhal said that a major disaster was averted as the vehcile’s fuel tank was full and could have exploded.

“The vehicle was parked outside my official residence and its fuel tank was full as I was supposed to travel to Mumbai on Friday for a meeting. Around 3.40 am, the guard at the my residence sensed something was wrong and woke up to see the vehicle on fire,” he said.

Interestingly, the fire only spread to the rear end of the vehicle and it raged on for around 30 minutes before it could be controlled. While the Shivajinagar police have registered a case of accidental fire, foul play cannot be ruled out given the statewide agitation over sugar export which has been going on for the past few days.

“Sakhar Sankul is a sprawling campus and we have a few security guards of our own,” Singhal said. After the incident, Singhal has been provided with official security by the police.