Man jailed following Belgrave Commercial Centre arson
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A man has been sentenced to 34 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to arson following a fire at Belgrave Commercial Centre last year.
Parvinder Singh, 28, previously admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered when he appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Friday 24 April this year following the blaze which happened during the evening of Sunday 6 January, 2019.
Parvinder Singh
Businesses were destroyed in the fire leaving owners, staff and the community devastated.
While people were inside premises affected at the time of the fire being started, fortunately no-one was injured in the incident.
Singh, of Bobbers Mill Road, Nottingham, appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Monday (29 June) where he was sentenced to 34 months imprisonment.
Police had been called to the fire just after 10pm on 6 January where the fire service were also in attendance tackling the blaze.
Initial enquiries involving police and fire investigators quickly determined that the fire had been started deliberately and an investigation was launched.
Witnesses were spoken to in the area, CCTV was analysed and public appeals were made.
CCTV obtained showed a man with a bag sat on some crates in the area prior to the fire. The man was then seen to crouch over before standing up and walking off - noticing a flame coming from where he had been as he left. The fire was then seen to ignite on the CCTV and the man left the area.
The image of the suspect was issued in a public appeal and through leaflets which were handed out in the area asking for information.
The enquiries led to Singh being identified as the man in the CCTV and work was then carried out to locate the defendant leading to his arrest in October last year.
Police appealed for information following the incident
Detective Constable Gemma Allen said: “This was a devastating incident for residents, business owners and workers in the community.
“Businesses were completely destroyed and it is extremely fortunate that there were no injuries in the fire. Lives could have been lost on that night because of the actions of one man.
“My thanks go to those who helped us in this case including witnesses at the scene and the full team who were involved in this investigation.
“I hope this conviction helps those affected by Singh’s actions as they continue to rebuild from the devastation that was caused that night.”