Kozhikode (Kerala), February 13 Police are searching for a young man who is alleged to have caused widespread damage by using a stolen pickup van to damage a car and later setting fire to an oil mill in Velimanna on Friday, officials said.
The accused, Abdul Rasiq, has been missing since early Friday morning.
According to officials at the Thamarassery police station, Rasiq first stole a pickup van from the Chungam area and arrived in Velimanna around 2 am.
He is alleged to have then rammed the stolen vehicle into a car parked on the roadside. He then set fire to a coconut oil mill and fled the scene in the pickup van, police said.
Residents who heard a loud noise rushed to the spot and found the oil mill on fire.
They were able to extinguish the fire, which also damaged an ambulance parked nearby.
Police said that Rasiq later drove the stolen pickup van to a petrol pump, from where he allegedly stole another vehicle before returning home.
At his residence, he is alleged to have attacked his father when questioned about returning home late, and then left the house, police said.
After examining CCTV footage, police identified Rasiq and launched a search operation to locate him.
Police officials said that Rasiq had previously worked at the oil mill where the fire was set.
His mobile phone was later found abandoned at another location in the afternoon, police added.
The motive behind the incident is yet to be determined, officials said.