Denied loans, man sets bank furniture on fire

Furniture and machines worth Rs 16 lakh were destroyed at the Canara Bank branch office at Hediggonda village in Byadagi taluk during the wee hours of Sunday after a man set them on fire.

Waseem Akram Mulla (33), a resident of Rattihalli, was upset after the manager denied him loans. He carried petrol and rode his bike to the bank around 2 am. He broke open window panes of the branch office on the first floor of the gram panchayat building and gained entry inside. He poured petrol on the materials and lit fire, according to sources.

Furniture, cash counter equipment, computer, printer, CCTV camera, scanner, fan, certain documents and currency note counting machine were gutted in the incident.

A few alert residents caught him when he jumped down and tried to escape. They thrashed and handed him over to the police.

On being alerted, the fire force personnel rushed and doused the fire. The Kaginele police have registered a case.