Four vehicles set on fire in Shillong; police launch probe

SHILLONG, JUN 6: Three government vehicles, including a police van and a tourist taxi were set ablaze in a series of suspected incidents of arson in different parts here in Meghalaya in the early hours of Saturday.
Police have launched investigation into the incidents caused by unidentified miscreants.
Fire was set on vehicles belonging to key government agencies, including the Meghalaya Police, Health and Family Welfare department and state-owned North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO), besides a tourist taxi at multiple locations in the state capital within a short span of time. District police chief of East Khasi Hills, Vivek Syiem said the incidents took place between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. this morning, and no arrests have been made so far.
A police vehicle (ML-02-5516), parked at the Kench’s Trace Police Beat House was set ablaze at around 3 a.m. The vehicle’s hood and seat were burnt, but the fire was quickly doused before it could cause extensive damage, Syiem said. Around the same time, a Health and Family Welfare department vehicle, an Innova bearing registration number ML-05-W-3399, parked near Synod College at Lumdiengjri, was partially damaged after being set on fire.
In another incident, an SX4 vehicle (ML-05-F-6060) belonging to NEEPCO and parked along the roadside at Mawlai Phudmuri was also partially burnt, with damage reported to the interior of the vehicle. A tourist taxi was also among the vehicles targeted in the multiple incidents of arson.
Syiem said police have launched an investigation to identify those responsible and ascertain whether the attacks were co-ordinated.