Mathura / A Man set his car ablaze, fired in the air in Mathura; arrested

A man set his car ablaze and fired gunshots in the air when approached by the police in Mathura city on Wednesday evening, the police said.

He was accompanied by a woman and children who sat on the road when the incident took place and brought traffic to standstill in the area where offices of senior officials and court premises are located. Both the man and the woman were later arrested.

Mathura senior superintendent of police Shalabh Mathur said, “The man has been identified as Shivam Chaudhary from Mathura who reached the spot at about 4.45pm on Wednesday. It seems that he had informed those in the area of his arrival prior to reaching there. He was accompanied by a woman and both had illegal weapon with them.”

“He set his own car on fire and when attempts were made to control him, he fired in the air and kept on addressing (people) on a public address system,” the SSP said.

According to eyewitnesses, the man was speaking about corruption and fired in the air when policemen tried to arrest him.

“The man was shouting in the mike....he was not clearly audible, but it was something about corruption. He set the car ablaze. Police attempted to move closer but were forced back because he fired in the air,” said an eyewitness.

It took considerable time before the police, with the help of locals, overpowered him. Their weapons were also seized.

Police said the exact reason for the incident was not known because of the conflicting statements given by Shivam.

“Investigation is on to ascertain the exact reason for the incident because conflicting statements are coming from him. Sometimes, he claimed the woman with him was his wife and at other times he called her his sister. Then, he changed his version by calling her his business partner,” said Mathur.