A longstanding friendship between two people has turned sour, with police now involved, as the one friend, now highly upset, has accused the other of burning his house garage (on the ground level) and his car.
This follows an early morning fire at the Himalaya Str home this past Sunday (Feb 22) of Mohammed Ameen Afinwala. Ameen also runs a motor mechanic workshop from his garage under the name of ‘Germanz Auto Works.’ The fire which started just past 1am has resulted in the garage and a black Honda Prelude motorcar parked within, being extensively damaged. Ameen alleged that his close friend, Sunil Soma, had set fire to his Honda, which caused the garage to catch fire, adding that Sunil had also stolen the Honda’s battery. The flames from the garage, situated at street level, spread towards the upper section of the house, where Ameen lived with his wife, grandmother and child who were inside the house at the time of the fire. Fortunately no one was injured in the fire.
apparently set by Sunil Soma.
Ameen told the Laudium Sun, “I am the owner of, ‘Germanz Auto Works’, which is on Himalaya Street, the same place where I also live with my family. I had a long standing friendship with my friend Sunil Soma, who last lived also on Himalaya Street and we never had any disagreements or conflicts, all this time. On Saturday night (Feb, 21), Sunil was with me. Later that night or rather early Sunday morning at around 1:15am, we were both inside my house. We were having the usual friendly chats and the night was very peaceful. I then asked Sunil to grab something from my garage which is downstairs. Not long after Sunil went to the garage, I suddenly heard a loud bang coming from the garage. I rushed outside to see what was happening and to my shock, I discovered that the car parked inside my garage, a black Honda Prelude, was on fire. The flames quickly spread, engulfing the entire garage. The flames of the fire began to spread towards the rest of the house, endangering the whole house together with my family and my personal belongings. At that moment, my wife, my little child, and my grandmother were inside the house. I immediately evacuated them to safety, ensuring that everyone got out unharmed. The situation was extremely frightening, as the fire was spreading quickly, and the smoke made it difficult to see. Soon after, firefighters arrived at the scene and worked to control the flames, rescuing us from further danger. I believe that my close friend Sunil was responsible for the fire, as he went missing since then. I cannot understand why Sunil would commit such a dangerous act. We had no arguments, no disputes, and there was no reason for this attack. His actions have left me and my family traumatized. The betrayal of someone I trusted so deeply, has caused me both emotional and financial damage. The garage and the car were severely damaged, and the experience has shaken my family and my sense of security. I have opened a charge of arson against Sunil, and I hope that the police will arrest him soon and that justice will be served. This incident has been completely traumatizing and it is only by luck and quick thinking that no one was injured. If we had not been able to evacuate the house in time, the consequences could have been tragic, particularly for my young child. We will do everything possible to ensure that such criminal behavior is not tolerated in our community. Safety and accountability are paramount and justice must prevail for the sake of my family and all residents of Himalaya Street and Laudium.”
Gairoon Sayed, the grandmother of Ameen, told the Laudium Sun, “It was an incredibly sad and devastating moment for my grandchild and for our entire family. The incident of Saturday night has left us in deep misery and the emotional and financial impact is overwhelming. The fire that was set in our garage has destroyed almost everything we owned. The entire garage, along with the Honda motorcar and all the business equipment and tools stored inside, were completely ruined. The loss has affected not only my grandchild’s business, but also the stability and security of our household. We are still trying to come to terms with what happened and the scale of destruction it caused. Years of effort, time and savings made my grandchild were wiped out in an instant. The fire destroyed not only material possessions, but also the dreams and plans that were tied to the business. We are left with nothing in the house, and even basic necessities such as groceries are no longer available. The financial strain has been immense, as I am living only on my small pension, which is insufficient to cover the losses we have suffered. We are trying to survive each day, but the challenges are significant and the situation is emotionally exhausting. The betrayal by Sunil Soma, a person we considered not only as a close friend but family, has made the situation even harder to accept. There was no reason for such a dangerous and destructive act. His actions have left us completely shocked and traumatized. The police must take strict action against him to ensure that justice is served and that he is held fully accountable for the damage he caused. The fire could have resulted in severe injuries or worse and we were extremely lucky that no one was hurt. We are reaching out to the community for help because we need urgent assistance to recover from this tragedy. We need support to replace basic necessities such as food and clothing, as well as to help rebuild what was lost in the garage. Any assistance from residents or local organizations would be deeply appreciated. We are forced to start over from scratch and the journey ahead will be long and difficult without help. We are living in dust and ruins and the emotional and financial toll is overwhelming. We pray that the community can come together to help us rebuild our lives. This has been a traumatic experience, and every bit of support will make a difference as we try to recover from this devastating incident.”
The Laudium Sun tried to reach Sunil Soma for comment, but was unsuccessful.