Suspicious fires that destroyed two Indian restaurants in Scarborough last week are believed to be connected in a suspected arson investigation, according to police.
In the early morning hours of Friday, May 23, emergency crews were called to Shaaz Indian Cuisine, located at 2300 Lawrence Avenue East, after three masked suspects allegedly forced their way into the restaurant.
Surveillance footage shows the suspects pouring what police describe as “accelerant” throughout the premises. The suspects then set fire to the building before fleeing the area.
“Several employees who were inside at the time were able to exit safely and were not injured,” Constable Stephanie Miceli of the Toronto Police Service announced in an update provided on Tuesday.
Just over 24 hours later, police were called to another fire at a restuarant in the same general area called Bisi Bisi, which is located at 1198 Kennedy Road, near Lawrence Avenue East.
In that case, police say two masked suspects broke in and set a fire inside the restaurant using an accelerant and fled the scene in a silver SUV.
“At this time, we do believe that these two incidents are connected,” Miceli added.
Both restaurants are owned by the same people according to Toronto lawyer Rajesh Kumar, who represents the owners. In an interview with CityNews, he called the fires a “deliberate and cowardly act of arson.”
“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.”
On Tuesday, police released images of the two suspects and a vehicle which is believed to be connected to the second investigation.
The two suspects are both described as males with thin builds. They were last seen wearing dark-coloured clothing.
The alleged getaway vehicle is described as a silver SUV or possibly a Honda CRV, with a purple light on the driver’s side of the dashboard.
Meanwhile, police say a third fire that broke out at a nearby Greek Café on Tuesday morning is not connected to the arson investigation.
