Group storms into office, sets furniture ablaze; case filed

Police on Wednesday registered an offence against a group of persons for allegedly storming into a private consultant's office located at Uran in Maharashtra's Raigad district and setting furniture and other things on fire in a bid to scare people holding a meeting there, an official said.

The incident occurred around 7:30 pm on Tuesday, he said.

A complaint had been filed saying that several persons were allegedly duped by a duo through their investment scheme. Based on the complaint, the police had registered a case against agents with one Hitesh Gavand named as the main accused, the police official said.

"A meeting of a few persons, who fell prey to the investment scam, was in progress at the consultant's office on Tuesday to decide the further course of action like holding agitation and forming a committee comprising people from Uran and Panvel," the official of Uran police station under the jurisdiction of Navi Mumbai police commissionerate said.

"When the meeting was on at the office and the victims were discussing the matter, some unidentified persons stormed into it and set the furniture, including sofa and chairs, on fire. They also threw a chit in which they warned those attending the meeting, before escaping from the spot," the official said.

Nobody was injured in the incident, he said.

An offence was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc) and 506 (criminal intimidation) against Gavand and an unspecified number of persons based on the complaint by the consultant, the police said.