Three shops set afire after trader refuses to sell cigarettes at night

Daltonganj: Three shops were set on fire after a shopkeeper refused to sell cigarettes late at night on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday on the outskirts of Daltonganj.Three to four youths arrived on a motorcycle at the house-cum-shops of Rajesh Kumar Gupta at Nirala Tola in Sua village. One of them demanded cigarettes from Gupta, who refused, saying he could not open his confectionery-cum-grocery store at such an odd hour of the night, Sadar police station officer-in-charge Lalji said, quoting Gupta’s written complaint.The youths left after shouting that Gupta would face the consequences of refusing their demand.

Later, Gupta’s family discovered that the shops had been set on fire.According to Lalji, Gupta estimated his losses at around Rs 5 lakh.When asked whether Gupta had named any accused, the police officer said he suspected a few village bullies to be behind the arson.Police immediately registered the complaint as an FIR and began an investigation under Section 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with sections related to arson.Police have detained two people who are currently being interrogated.