A SHOPKEEPER has told of the terrifying moment a firebomb maniac set fire to his fiancée’s motor – amid fears it was sparked by a parking dispute.
Girish Jeeva, 31, was working at his store in Barmulloch, Glasgow, when a nutcase was caught on camera dousing fuel over the Porsche as it sat yards from his shop front.
The car in Barmulloch was set alight by a mystery maniac on Wednesday.
Cameras captured the moment the night was lit up in an inferno.
Girish Jeeva is seen looking on with a pole in hand as the flames take hold.
Brave Girish Jeeva tackled the blaze amid fears an explosion was brewing.
The mystery fiend is then seen igniting the inferno soon after the last customers had left the shop on Wednesday night.
Girish said: “I think it’s to do with the car park because we have had threats about it on Facebook. I think someone who doesn’t like us in the area is trying to send a message.”
Brave Girish also told how he risked his life by tackling the sinister blaze as he feared it was about to explode into a potentially deadly fireball.
Dramatic CCTV footage shows the shopkeeper race towards the inferno burning yards from his Premier store’s front door and removing a burning can from the bonnet.
He said: “I put myself at risk to get the cannister off the car because I thought the whole thing was going to explode.
“When the police and fire service arrived I told them what happened and they said I should not have done it as I could have been badly hurt or even killed.
“But I just couldn’t take the chance of it blowing up because my colleagues were inside the shop with me.”
Every spine-chilling detail of the horror firebombing was captured on the cameras monitoring Girish’s award-winning store on Wednesday night.
A hooded suspect appears to have been watching from a parked motor – possibly a red Ford Fiesta – before striking.
Footage then shows the man walking towards the Porsche as it sits in a ‘staff only’ parking bay at the Quarrywood Avenue unit.
The thug is then seen pouring flammable liquid over the car before the flames ignite.
Girish last night revealed he’d been in the store with staff when his eye was drawn to his CCTV screens.
He said: “I looked at the camera and I could see something orange on the car.
“I then realised somebody was setting fire to it so I ran down and I took a big metal thing with me.
“You can see me in the footage using that to remove the cannister.
“It was crazy. People could have been killed.”
Alan MacGregor EwingPolice have launched an investigation into the destruction in Barmulloch.[/caption]
Alan MacGregor EwingA carrier used to carry the family’s pet dog Leo was seen next to the wreckage.[/caption]
Fire crews and cops were summoned just after 11pm, not long after the store had closed for the night at 10pm.
The following morning customers were horrified to see the mangled car with several especially concerned about the presence of a scorched pet carrier next to the rear of the destroyed motor.
Girish explained it was used to carry his ten-week-old Maltipoo puppy Leo who by sheer chance had been carried inside the store before the attacker pounced.
He said: “My fiancee could easily have left Leo inside the car. Thankfully she had brought him with her otherwise he wouldn’t be with us anymore.”
Alan MacGregor EwingThe destroyed car sits outside the store hours after the horror attack.[/caption]
Cops are now probing the incident that comes just days after Girish had created special parking bays outside the shop to help access for delivery drivers.
Girish says some locals haven’t responded well to the move and he fears that could be what’s motivated the sickening attack.
He said: “Some residents have been parking their cars overnight so our delivery drivers can’t alway get a space and have to unload the delivery in the middle of the road.
“There have also been incidents where people have stolen from the trucks so the suppliers have said unless we give them a parking space they can’t deliver.”
We earlier told how the luxury motor was destroyed in a suspected firebomb attack outside a city shop.
The plush dark blue was left a complete wreck after the horrifying incident.
A local told of her shock at seeing the mangled car as she popped in for messages at the busy retailer.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said: “I came down this morning and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“I’ve never seen a car that badly damaged before. You can still smell the fumes and burning metal.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”
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