Hyderabad: A 42-year-old man went on a vandalising spree by setting expensive cars on fire in his neighbourhood in Malkajgiri at night when the owners were sleeping. Police arrested the man with using CCTV footage and found the suspect Ram Iyer Kannan Venkatesh had burnt the cars as he was ‘envious’.
Venkatesh told the police that his grandfather used to work for the Nizam as an accountant and his family had enjoyed a high quality life. But his family became poor over the years and he became envious of others having expensive cars.
Police said Venkatesh had set six cars on fire in Malkajgiri since July 3. He targeted expensive cars parked in front of houses like Mahindra Xylo, Volkswagen Venta, Skoda Yeti Elegance, Honda Amaze, Hyundai I10 and Maruti Ritz.
“He used to go to houses with a bottle of spirit or petrol and set the cars on fire. One of the victims had a CCTV camera in front of his house and the footage helped us to catch him,” said a senior police official from Malkajgiri.
After his arrest, Venkatesh told the police that he remembered enjoying luxuries in his childhood. His ancestors were part of the Nizam's palace. But later, his relatives grabbed their properties, he said. When he became an adult he had to take up the job of a painter. “He got married in 2007 but was divorced in 2011. Since he had no children he was living alone. He later moved into his brother’s house in Malkajgiri,” said a cop.
Police booked him under IPC 435. He was sent to judicial custody.
