DAMAGED: An Rylands takeways ‘set alight’
Employees at a Rylands takeaways say they are the victims of extortionists after a fire ripped through the store on Sunday night.
Abdul Fazdune, an employee at Arshad’s Chicken Tikka, says the fire started at 7.20pm during a quiet period.
He suspects it was caused by skollies who had threatened the business.
“The guys come here all the time and say we must give them money or else something bad will happen to us, but we do not give them anything because it is not right,” he says.
“(On Sunday night) it was quiet with only a few people around but there was a group of guys who were inside and looking around.
“One of the workers at the back said they think one of these guys was busy looking at the back and could have slipped behind the counter.
“It was not long afterwards when the fire started and we all had to run out of the shop.
“The damage was not too bad but we cannot open for a few days now so that means we are losing money.”
When the Daily Voice visited the shop on Monday it was still closed and the area cordoned off.
“I am happy that nobody was hurt but like I said this is very bad for us because we are normally very busy and this is our business so having the doors closed is bad,” says Abdul.
Fire and rescue services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse says the cause of the fire was unknown. The blaze was extinguished by 8.20pm.
“Fire crews from Ottery and Epping were on scene with two fire engines and one rescue vehicle,” he adds.
“The fire was confined to an extractor fan that was burning and no injuries were reported.”
junior.bester@inl.co.za
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