High drama as man sets car ablaze, fires in air
AGRA : A man set his car ablaze and fired gunshots in the air when approached by the police in the heart of Mathura city on Wednesday evening, the police said.
He was accompanied by a woman and children who sat on the road when the incident took place and brought traffic to standstill in the area where offices of senior officials and court premises are located. Both the man and the woman were arrested.
Mathura senior superintendent of police Shalabh Mathur said, “The man has been identified as Shivam Chaudhary from Mathura who reached the spot at about 4.45pm on Wednesday. It seems that he had pre-informed those in the area and had illegal weapons with him. He was accompanied by a woman who too had an illegal weapon with her.”
“He set his own car afire and when attempts were made to control him, he fired in the air and kept on addressing (people) on a sound (public address) system,” the SSP said.
“Exact reason for all this is being investigated because conflicting statements are coming from him. Sometimes, he claims the woman with him is his wife and at other times he calls his sister. Then, he changes his version by calling her his business partner,” said Mathur.
“Investigation is on to ascertain the exact reason for the incident,” he said.
Using a public address system, the man spoke about corruption when he was suddenly overpowered by the police and lawyers who were assisted by locals, eyewitnesses said. Their weapons were taken away when the man and the woman were overpowered.
“The man was shouting on the mike but was not clearly audible, but it was something about corruption. He fired in the air after setting the car ablaze. Police attempted to move closer but were forced back by the man who had a pistol in his hand,” said an eyewitness.