15-year-old arrested for setting 9 buses on fire in Ranchi

Ranchi police have apprehended a 15-year-old boy in connection with the arson of nine buses at Birsa Munda Bus Terminus in KantaToli, the heart of Jharkhand's capital.

The boy, whose identity remains undisclosed, is expected to be presented before the child welfare committee (CWC) for appropriate legal action.

Dayanand Kumar, the officer-in-charge of Lower Bazar police station, confirmed the arrest but refrained from providing further details due to the involvement of a minor.

According to police officials, the boy allegedly used a spirit spray and a lighter to ignite the buses. During questioning, he revealed that he sprayed the inflammable substance near the fuel tank of the buses before setting them ablaze. The minor, a resident of Ranchi's Namkum area, had been working as a porter at Khadgarha bus stand for a few days but was recently terminated from the job.

Two separate incidents of fire occurred at Birsa Munda Bus Terminus on Thursday. The first incident took place around 12:45 pm, resulting in the charring of four buses before the fire brigade arrived to extinguish the flames. Subsequently, a second fire broke out around 3:30 pm after the firefighters had left the scene, causing five more buses to be charred before their return.