The lawyer who represents the owners of a Scarborough restaurant gutted by a fire early Saturday morning calls it a “deliberate and cowardly act of arson.”
Toronto lawyer Rajesh Kumar tells CityNews there was nothing accidental about the blaze that destroyed Bisi Bisi and another restaurant 24 hours earlier.
“Both these restaurants largely belong to the same owners. What is shocking is the audacity and the lack of deference to the rule of law that criminals can wander in and set establishments on fire, two nights in a row,” said Kumar.
“This was not an accident. All levels of evidence indicate that this incident was a deliberate and cowardly act of arson.”
Surveillance video shows two individuals approach the restaurant at 1198 Kennedy Road, near Lawrence Avenue East, just after 3:30 a.m. One person appears to be carrying a canister while the other is holding what appears to be a metal bar. The two break the front window of the restaurant before going inside. Moments later, they reemerge, and while one of them returns to a vehicle in the parking lot, the other lights an object on fire and tosses it into the building. A large flash of fire and smoke is seen as the second person scampers back to the vehicle, which then flees the plaza.
A restaurant in the same area, Shaaz Indian Cuisine, located at 2300 Lawrence Avenue East, was also destroyed by fire early Friday morning. Police believe that the fire was deliberately set, but have not said if the two fires are connected at this point.
“This was not really an attack on a business but a violation of safety and trust in our community,” said Kumar. “The Shaaz restaurant has been a pillar of the local community for years. The second restaurant, Bisi Bisi, literally opened over a week ago. So let us be clear, this kind of criminal activity has no place in Canada.”
Yara Doleh operates Unique Books, which is several doors down from the affected restaurant. While the fire did not spread to her store, the smell of smoke was prevalent as she returned on Sunday.
“When I first opened, some people say it’s like an oasis, people come in, they feel rejuvenated,” she told CityNews. “Now, it’s terrible …it’s like a war zone.”
“I actually wanted to grab as many books as possible, thinking I could save some of them, at least from the smoke. But getting inside was a bit difficult, every single book smells like smoke, I smell like smoke now.”
City councillor Michael Thompson condemned the act and spoke about the lasting impacts it will have on the community and local businesses, which are forced to remain closed for the time being as a result of the fire.
“I want to encourage people that once these businesses are open that we want to encourage them to come and support these local businesses, and I’m going to be working with the BIA to see what we can do to help these businesses going forward.”
