Bhubaneswar, June 10: Two private buses were set on fire near Museum Square under mysterious circumstances in the early hours of this morning.
One of the buses gutted in the incident belonged to a city-based owner whose another bus was set on fire by a mob near Hata Chhak in Pipili on June 5.
Police said the incident took place between 3.30am and 3.50am when a helper was sleeping inside one of the buses. "Three buses owned by two brothers from the city's Old Town area used to remain parked at that spot for the past few years. A helper would always sleep in one of the buses. He told us that someone woke him up by sprinkling water on his face after the buses were set on fire," said a police officer.
Later, fire personnel rushed to the spot and doused the flames. However, by that time, two buses were completely gutted while the fire personnel managed to shift another bus from the spot. The police said while one of the buses that was gutted was a tourist bus, another one used to ply between Bhubaneswar and Puri. The third bus also plies on the same route.
The owners of the buses later lodged a complaint with Badagada police station. The owners suspected business rivalry or involvement of people in the Pipili incident, after which seven persons were arrested in a police crackdown there.
A mob of around 1,500 torched three buses and also ransacked a few other buses after the death of Hadu Khan, 70, and his wife Kuni Biwi, 63, on June 5. Bus services on the Bhubaneswar-Puri, Pipili-Jatni, Pipili-Nimapara and the Pipili-Delang route had come to a halt for several hours because of the agitation.
Deputy commissioner of police, Bhubaneswar, Satya-brata Bhoi said the police had already begun an investigation after the owner lodged the complaint. "We are waiting for the forensic report to ascertain the material which was used to set the buses on fire. We are also trying to ascertain the exact reason behind the crime," said Bhoi.
The police said as the area was not covered under CCTV camera surveillance, it would be difficult to identify the culprits. "Besides, the bus owners so far have not mentioned the name of any of their rivals despite suspecting their hand in the incident," said a police officer.
