Cigarette butt sparked Vizag fishing harbour fire, says AP police; one held
Visakhapatnam, Nov 25: A cigarette butt carelessly discarded on a boat sparked the massive fire in Visakhapatnam jetty, which gutted over 30 fishing vessels, said police on Saturday.
The incident occurred on November 19 night, when Vasupalli Nani (23) was consuming alcohol with his uncle Allipilli Satyam on a boat at the harbour.
"They consumed liquor together. Later, Nani threw a non-extinguished cigarette stub onto the nylon fishing net of an adjacent boat," said Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner A Ravi Shankar at a Press Conference.
The fishing net caught fire and the flames spread to other boats, prompting the duo to flee.
Disregarding the gravity of the situation, Nani and his uncle went home to sleep.
Later, Nani returned to the jetty and realized that it was his act of throwing the stub which caused the fire and warned his uncle not to disclose it to anyone.
After five days of intense investigation, police booked Nani under IPC Sections 437, 428 and 285, altering the case from accidental fire.
According to police, footage of Nani fleeing the jetty, where the fire originated, at 10:08 pm on November 19 through the dry dock gate proved crucial to zero in on him.
Further, a witness corroborating the unique horn sound of the accused's scooter on that fateful night proved to be key, among others.
As many as 30 fishing boats were completely gutted and 18 partially damaged in the blaze.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced that his government would compensate the fishermen up to 80 per cent of the losses they incurred in the fire accident here.
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Dakshina Kannada: Two girls drown while bathing near Kolyadakatta dam in Kadaba
Mangaluru: Two girl students drowned while bathing near the Kolyadakatta dam area of the Gundya river on Friday evening here in the Kadaba Taluk of the district.
The deceased have been identified as Arpita (15) and Sunita (21), both residents of Vimalagiri in Kutrupadi village.
According to reports, five girl students had visited the river along with their friends as it was a holiday. While bathing in the river, the two students reportedly entered a deeper portion of the water without realising the depth and began drowning.
Those accompanying them tried to rescue the duo, but were unsuccessful, leading to the tragedy.
After receiving information about the incident, Kadaba Police Station personnel visited the spot and conducted an inspection. The bodies were later recovered with the help of local residents.
