A drunk man was arrested after he ignited a fire at a petrol pump in Hyderabad, on Saturday.
The accused was allegedly challenged and provoked by a petrol pump employee to light up a cigarette lighter.
The incident took place around 7 pm when the drunk man, identified as Chiran, arrived at the petrol pump in the Nacharam area, with a cigarette lighter in his hand.
Arun, an employee at the petrol pump, asked the accused if he was planning to light up the device and then he challenged and provoked him to light it up if "he had the guts" to do so.
Accepting the challenge, Chiran lit up the lighter while Arun was dispensing fuel in a scooter, resulting in a sudden fire.
At the time of incident, around 10-11 people were present at the petrol pump, including two employees.
A woman and a child standing near the fire made a narrow escape, while all the other people standing ran away, showed a CCTV footage of the incident.
Both, Chiran and Arun have been arrested by the police and charged with mischief by fire and explosives.
Both the accused hail from Bihar.
"This dangerous act not only put lives at risk but could have caused a catastrophic explosion, especially in this crowded area with heavy traffic," Inspector G Rudvir Kumar, Nacharam Police, said.
In another incident, two persons were killed and two others were injured after a fire erupted in a building in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur on Saturday.
Police were alerted after flamers were seen raging on the second floor of the residential-cum-commercial building situated near Mini Mata Chowk late Saturday evening, a senior police official said.
Police personnel, a fire tender, and an ambulance were rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation, he said.
"Thick smoke filled the building's premises. A man and a woman were found lying unconscious. They were rushed to a hospital where they were declared as brought dead," he said.
