MAPUSA: Three vehicles were gutted in a fire allegedly started by an elderly mentally unsound woman in her locality in Corjuem, Aldona, in the wee hours of Tuesday. The blaze engulfed a car, a scooter and two cycles belonging to the Rozario family, destroying the vehicles and causing the owners a loss of around Rs 1.50 lakh.
The incident occurred at around 3 am. The Mapusa Fire Station and police were informed. A team of fire station personnel rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control.
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Locals said that it was not a natural fire, but someone had purposely set the vehicles ablaze, and voiced suspicions that it could have been the mentally unstable lady in the ward who unwittingly started it.
In the fire, a scooter bearing registration MH 07 U 2887 and a car with licence plate no. MH 02 AQ 9112 were gutted.
“We have examined the CCTV footage of the scene and it was clearly seen that one lady set the vehicles on fire, using a match box and cloth to start it. Accordingly, an FIR under Section 436 of the IPC was registered and the 71-year-old resident of Segundo Vaddo, Corjuem, was detained,” said Mapusa SDPO Jivba Dalvi.
Since the lady was found to be mentally ill, she was admitted to the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB),
Bambolim.
