Auto driver who set cop ablaze arrested

THANE - An auto-rickshaw driver who set ablaze a traffic constable in Maharashtra’s Thane district was arrested Thursday, police said.

“We laid a trap. We will produce him in the court and ask for police custody for further questioning,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Devraj said.

Late Wednesday, traffic constable Anil Aytodekar, 40, fined auto driver Mahendra Kevat for not possessing documents of his vehicle. An hour later, Kevat returned to the spot, poured petrol over him and set him ablaze.

Other auto-rickshaw drivers and passers-by managed to save the policeman, but by then he suffered more than 50 percent burns on his back, neck and head. He has been hospitalized.