The owner of a grocery store in New York City is facing federal charges after the Department of Justice accused him of burning down another store that offered lower prices. Mamunar Khan, who is co-owner of Deshi Bazaar in Queens, was unable to compete with the prices being offered at Premium Supermarket and went into the store during business hours and set it on fire.
“As alleged in the indictment, Khan set fire to a supermarket while it was open for business, demonstrating total disregard for the safety of employees, customers and the firefighters who responded to the blaze,” U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said. “Attempting to burn down your competition is an extremely serious and violent crime and we and our law enforcement partners will ensure that such crimes are punished.”
Luckily, nobody was injured in the blaze, but the building sustained substantial damage.
Khan had reportedly complained to his friends about the low prices at Premium Supermarket and was interviewed by investigators about the fire. The next day, Khan fled the country and went to Bangladesh. He stayed there for three months and was arrested when he returned to the United States.
He was charged with arson and faces at a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in jail if he is convicted.
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