BENGALURU: A 22-year-old who was desperate for ganja but had run out of money, demanded Rs 100 from his 20 year-old neighbour. When his demand was turned down, he assaulted the youth and set fire to his mother’s tailor shop late at night, causing a loss of Rs 4.5 lakh.
The shop’s owner, Manjula, is a single parent who lives with her son Mallikarjun and teenage daughter. The shop was their only means of income. The accused has been identified as Anbu, 22, who stays near Gangamma Circle, Jalahalli East. He was arrested by Gangammanagudi police.
Manjula, in her complaint, told police that on Tuesday night, at around 8.30 pm, Mallikarjun was returning home when Anbu waylaid him near Gangamma Circle. “My son didn’t have money on him, which he told Anbu,” she said, alleging that Anbu wanted to buy ganja with that money.
“Anbu threatened to set fire to my tailor shop. After reaching home, I found Mallikarjun bleeding, and he explained what happened,” she said, adding that she immediately went to Anbu’s house to complain to his parents. “As there was no proper response from them, I called the police. Anbu wasn’t around, so cops asked his parents to send him to the station.”
An investigating officer said, “Anbu has a history of assaulting people in his area, but only one case was registered earlier.”
Cops made victims run in circles
“When I went to Gangammanagudi police station, they refused to register my complaint, and directed me to Vidyaranyapura police station. The Vidyaranyapura police told us that incident has taken place in Gangammanagudi police jurisdiction, and scolded their colleagues for directing us to them. We then went back to Gangammanagudi police station and filed the complaint, returning home at around 12.45 am,” she said.
Meanwhile, Anbu learnt that the cops had come to his house. He allegedly went to Manjula’s shop, threw petrol on it and set it ablaze. “By the time we got there, the fire had spread. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused it in time,” she said, adding that she also lost some ID proofs in the fire.