Jagatsinghpur: A man has been taken into custody on the charge of attempting to set a house in fire in Kujang police station area in the district.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening at Gopiakuda village. The accused, Jagannath Tarai, had allegedly tried to torch fellow villager Janghyeswar Panda's house when there was a power-cut in the village. The accused poured kerosene on the backside of the house and lit it with fire. However, Panda;s family members, who were luckily out of the house at that time, spotted the fire and doused it before it could spread further.

Panda's family members spotted Tarai fleeing from their house. After they raised an alarm, local people chased and caught him. Later, he was handed over to police.

"We have detained Tarai. He is being interrogated," said Kujang police station inspector Dillip Kumar Sahu.

He has been charged with cases under Indian Penal Code sections 436 (setting a house on fire) and 307 (attempt to murder). "Such acts come under mental illness. The accused needs treatment," said an official of health department.