Sydney:
Two food vans belonging to an Indian restaurant were on Monday destroyed in a blaze, days after a nearby community restaurant was set on fire on the same street in Sydney.
The food vans were destroyed in the fire which police and fire fighters believe to have been deliberately started. They found the vans belonging to Maya Da Dhaba on Cleveland Street burning at 2.30 am local time. The fire fighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly but both vans were gutted.
Ajay Raj, the owner of
Maya Da Dhaba told NDTV he's shocked at the incident, "We have been here in Surry Hills for the past 11 years and nothing like this has happened. I would like to believe that this does not have any racial undertones. The police has acquired CCTV footage. There was a CCTV camera right above one of the vans that was burnt. I have myself seen a few seconds of that footage where you can see a guy vaguely (his face cannot be seen properly) throwing something on the van and setting it alight. The detectives are investigating and I am hopeful they will be able to identify the culprits soon".
The police was now looking at links between this incident and a blaze at another Indian restaurant The Copper Tiffin on July 5. The Copper Tiffin is close to the Maya Da Dhaba. It is believed that the restaurant had received a bomb threat days before the arson attack took place. On that occasion two people were seen running from the restaurant as fire engulfed the building.
(With PTI Inputs)