According to the police, Dr. Ameet Gaikwad (37), assistant professor of pathology at the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS) set ablaze 10 cars on Wednesday at Jadhav Nagar in Belagavi before being caught red-handed while torching another car on Thursday.

At 9:30 pm, the doctor was caught by an alert security guard, Ganganagouda Patil.

The doctor was allegedly about to torch his 11th car in Visvesvaraya Nagar around 9:30 pm on Thursday when Ganganagouda Patil, an alert security card screamed at him.

Gaikwad caught by surprise attempted to escape but was caught by the guard who handed him over to the police resolving the mystery of burning cars in Belagavi.

The car burning spree saw two BMWs, a Honda City, a Verna and Toyota Innovas, go up in flames

“He would wear a face mask along with a helmet and drive around the city finding luxury cars parked outside the houses and set them on fire using a long stick wrapped in kerosene- soaked material. He placed the burning cloth below the wiper on the bonnet and fled when the car caught fire,” said Seema Latkar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Belagavi speaking to Deccan Chronicle.

During the investigation, Gaikwad tried to distance himself from the torching incidents by claiming it is an attempt to defame him. However, Seema Latkar said there are no doubts that Gaikwad was the culprit as he had been caught in the act on CCTV cameras.

Upon investigation, police officials also seized petrol/diesel cans, cloth balls, spirit, five cellphones, a lighter, a pair of scissors, two knives, a hammer, engine oil from his room, reported Times of India.  

Gaikwad is alleged to have developed a modus operandi of committing the crime between 3 am and 4 am by wearing a hooded T-shirt in an attempt to avoid CCTV cameras. An investigative officer suspected that Gaikwad had ‘unresolved psychological issues’, as reported by The Hindu.