JAIPUR: Eighteen cars were gutted after unidentified miscreants allegedly set ablaze a car workshop in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district, police said on Sunday.
According to the police, a land dispute between the workshop owner and another group may have been the cause of the incident.
The incident occurred on the Churu Bypass Road on Saturday night, triggering explosions from fuel tanks and sending a thick plume of smoke billowing into a large area.
Residents rushed out of their homes as fire tenders, police teams, and a large crowd gathered at the spot.
Car workshop owner Nasir said he had closed the premises in the evening and returned home.
"At night, neighbours called to say flames were rising from the workshop. When I reached, everything was on fire... All the cars were engulfed, and explosions occurred one after another," he said.
The fuel inside the vehicles intensified the blaze as multiple tanks burst, police said, adding that three fire tenders took around 90 minutes and five rounds to bring the flames under control.
Kotwali Station House Officer Shrawan Kumar said a case has been registered and efforts are on to trace the accused.
A forensic science lab team has collected evidence from the spot, he added.
Preliminary investigation revealed an ongoing land dispute between Nasir and another group, including a man identified as Anil Kumawat.
Tensions between the two sides had escalated in recent months, the officer said.