BHUBANESWAR: Peeved over being denied tiffin over pending dues, an anti-social on Sunday night allegedly set ablaze a mother-son duo who ran a makeshift tea-cum-tiffin shop near Capital Hospital at Unit VI area here.
The 57-year-old woman Sarojini Pradhan and her son Surjyakant, natives of Nayagarh district, who were sleeping in the shop when the incident occurred, have sustained minor injuries. The accused, identified as Laxmidhar, is allegedly on the run.
Police said Laxmidhar and the victims had an argument around two weeks back when the latter asked him to pay his pending dues of Rs 150. He had reportedly visited their shop again recently asking them to give tiffin but the mother-son duo turned him away as he had not cleared the pending dues. He was possibly holding a grudge against them since then, police said.
“Initial investigation suggests Laxmidhar entered the victims’ makeshift shop late on Sunday night when they were sleeping and poured kerosene or petrol on them before setting them afire. He then fled the spot,” police said.
Though the mother-son duo managed to douse the flames, they sustained minor injuries. They were immediately shifted to a hospital. “A case was registered and efforts are on to nab the accused,” said an officer of Capital police station.