A car caught fire and was completely gutted on Cunningham Road on Thursday night.According to police, a family of seven was travelling in a white Maruti Omni.
As they approached Cunningham Road, the car stopped and the driver got down to check if there was fuel in the vehicle. As he opened the fuel tank, sparks started flying. In no time, the car was up in flames, with six people inside.
The family members are Rasheed, 55, Mumtaz Begum, 40, Mohammed Sadiq, 60, Sahan, 25, Suraiya Banu, 20, Zubiya, 5, and Alina, 1, all residents of Tannery Road. It is said that the family was returning from a wedding when the incident took place.
Passersby who noticed the car burning informed the fire service and the police. A fire tender rushed to the spot, doused the flames and rescued the family members. Six of them were taken to the nearby Al-Ameen Hospital, while the one who suffered serious burns was rushed to Victoria Hospital, police said. A case has been registered at the High Grounds police station.
Rs 50 lakh jewellery stolen
Gold, silver jewellery and other valuables worth Rs 50 lakh are said to have been stolen from a locked room at a marriage hall on Bannerghatta Road during a wedding reception on Wednesday night.
Police suspect that the miscreants unlocked the bride’s room at the Meenakshi Mall wedding hall with a duplicate key. Srinivas Reddy, a businessman from RT Nagar who had organised his daughter’s wedding reception, told the Hulimavu police that all valuables, including cash and gifts, were missing. The valuables are worth at least Rs 50 lakh, he added.
The family members were busy with the reception when the thieves struck, police said.
Injured meat seller dies
A meat seller, who was battling for life at the Bowring Hospital after a group of armed men attacked him earlier this week, died of injuries early on Thursday. Following his death, police cordoned off his locality, Islampur, as a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward incident.
Haneef Khan, 36, was returning home from mosque when an eight-member group attacked him assault weapons on Monday evening. His friend Nayaz, who had accompanied him, ran away fearing for his life. The assailants then fled. Passersby took Khan to hospital.
In a complaint to the police, Khan’s family named a few suspects, following which police arrested four men — Irfan, Sohail, Salman and Pacho. Four others are said to be at large. Police said the motive for the murder was an old rivalry between Khan and the assailants.
After Khan’s death, the people of Islampur staged a protest, demanding that the culprits be brought to book. Shops and commercial establishments were shut down, a senior police officer said.