Russian police have detained a 40-year-old man suspected of setting fire to an apartment in the Russian town of Ob by detonating an unidentified device.
Two people were injured when the blaze broke out on 23 October in a flat inside a residential building on Bolshaya Street, according to investigators working on the case. The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for Novosibirsk Oblast announced the suspect's detention in a statement on its Telegram channel.
An investigative and operational group arrived at the scene on Bolshaya Street to examine the apartment where the fire broke out. The team established that the blaze had occurred as a result of the detonation of an unknown device.
Police detained the suspected arsonist, who turned out to be a 40-year-old resident living in the same apartment building on Bolshaya Street. According to the Novosibirsk Oblast branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the detained man has no prior criminal record.
Police investigation in Novosibirsk Oblast
Ob is a town in Novosibirsk Oblast in western Siberia, situated directly west of the regional capital, Novosibirsk, which is the third most populous city in Russia. Originally developed around a station on the Trans-Siberian Railway, the town of Ob takes its name from the nearby Ob River and serves as the home of Novosibirsk Tolmachevo International Airport.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation is the federal government ministry responsible for policing, criminal investigations and public order across Russia. Its Main Directorate for Novosibirsk Oblast oversees municipal police departments and investigative units throughout the region, regularly publishing updates on law enforcement operations via its official Telegram channel.
Officials at the Ministry of Internal Affairs noted that police and investigators are currently carrying out all necessary measures aimed at establishing the full circumstances of the incident on Bolshaya Street.
