VISAKHAPATNAM: Six days after a fire engulfed the Zero Jetty at the fishing harbour, destroying over 40 boats, Visakhapatnam city police unravelled the mystery behind the accident and took two people into custody on Saturday. The accused were identified as Vasupalli Nani (23) and his maternal uncle Allipalli Satyam. A case was booked under IPC Sections 437, 438 and 285.
Cigarette stub triggers inferno
Explaining the events that caused the inferno, city police commissioner A Ravi Shankar said the nephew-uncle duo, on November 19 around 6.30 pm, consumed alcohol on boat no.887, belonging to one Allipalli Venkatesh, when it was anchored in the second row on Zero Jetty. They also cooked some dry fish on a stove.
Later, Nani lit a cigarette and threw it on the adjacent boat, belonging to one Munnem Hari Seetharam, without putting it off properly. Subsequently, the nylon net laid on the adjacent boat caught fire. However, the duo fled the spot as soon as they noticed smoke and fire emanating from the boat. When they learnt about the devastating blaze, they returned to the fishing harbour only to realise that it was their act that triggered the fire.
Nani further warned Satyam not to disclose anything to anyone. The Police Control Room received a distress call from the harbour at 11.15 pm. The situation was brought under control at 6 am on November 20. Assistant Commissioner of Police B Moses Paul was directed to investigate the issue.
Elaborating on how the mystery was unravelled, CP Shankar said the ACP formed four teams to gather clues, check CCTV camera footage, analyse call detail records (CDRs) and interrogate suspects. He added that footage in 50 CCTV cameras was inspected.
Peculiar horn of Nani’s motorbike helps police nab accused in harbour fire
Footage in as many as 50 CCTV cameras were inspected, he pointed out. A team of forensic experts examined the scene, collected samples of the remnants and questioned witnesses to understand the root cause of the fire. One of the teams questioned a number of suspects, including the accused, after analysing technical data (tower dump data from telecom operators) and filtering it.
Shankar explained that one of the witnesses identified the peculiar horn of Nani’s bike while he was leaving the jetty around 10 pm on the fateful night. The CCTV camera footage also showed the duo fleeing the jetty through the dry dock gate at 10.08 pm. This was crucial in zeroing in on the accused in the case, he added. Based on the evidence gathered Nani was brought to I-Town Police Station, where he confessed to the crime.
A resident of Chengalaraopeta Bazar near New Agraharam Street, Nani goes by two aliases - Donga Kollu and Banti. He is married and has a son. A Class 3 dropout, he worked as a boat watchman for six years and later switched to fishing. However, he had not been fishing lately as the boat owned by his master, Pukkalla Masenu, was under repair. As he was idle on most days, he would go to the fishing harbour every day only to drink alcohol, police said.
On the alleged involvement of YouTuber Nani, the police officer clarified that he was taken into custody for interrogation due to confusion as the name of the accused was also Nani. However, the YouTuber was not involved in the issue, he said. The commissioner added that security at the fishing harbour would be stepped up to prevent the recurrence of such accidents. Action is already being taken against people drinking alcohol in public places, he pointed out.
As per the Joint Director of Fisheries, Visakhapatnam, as many as 30 boats were completely gutted and 18 others were partially damaged. The total value of the damage has been pegged at Rs 8.9 crore. Meanwhile, tension prevailed outside the I-Town Police Station for some time as relatives of the accused staged a protest, demanding the release of Nani and Satyam.
Witness identified nani’s bike horn
CP Shankar explained that one of the witnesses identified the peculiar horn of Nani’s bike while he was leaving the jetty around 10 pm. The CCTV camera footage also showed the duo fleeing the jetty through the dry dock gate at 10.08 pm. This was crucial in zeroing in on the accused in the case.