Bengaluru: Angry that his wife had left him and moved to her parents’ home following a domestic dispute, a 36-year-old man went on a spree of setting scrap godowns and shops ablaze at Attibele, Anekal and Jigani. His actions resulted in the death of a worker who was sleeping inside one of the scrap godowns, police investigations revealed.The accused, Jeevan Raj, a native of Denkanikottai in Tamil Nadu, had been living at Suddaguntepalya for the past few years and was engaged in the onion business. He had married around eight years ago and was living with his wife and children. However, frequent arguments reportedly strained their relationship. Following this, she left him and moved to her parents’ house.Angered by this, Raj began visiting his in-laws’ home requesting his wife to return. As she refused, he started venting his frustration by setting fire to scrap and vegetable shops.On Oct 22, he set fire to a scrap godown and a vegetable shop at Balluru village in Anekal. A labourer identified as Manikanta, 26, sleeping in the scrap godown, died due to suffocation.In the next few days, Raj set fire to scrap godowns at Anekal and Jigani. He would reportedly stand and watch the flames engulf the shops and even record videos of the fires on his mobile phone.200 CCTV cameras scanned to crack caseInitially, the fires were believed to be accidental. However, the repeated incidents following a similar pattern raised suspicion among police that they were deliberate acts of arson.Police examined footage from more than 200 CCTV cameras to identify the suspect. During the investigation, they spotted a man moving suspiciously near the scrap shops. Investigators tracked Raj, who would travel on a bike. He has been remanded in judicial custody on charges of murder.
