New Belgrade: Two Arrested Over Bar Arson Attempt
Serbia's Interior Ministry says police intercepted two suspects with a Molotov cocktail in New Belgrade. It also said two minors were identified over the October 5 fire.
Police intercepted two young men in New Belgrade at around 1:50 a.m. on October 10, before they managed to set fire to a hospitality venue, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry (MUP). The ministry said the same day that it had identified two minors suspected of a fire at a New Belgrade bar on October 5.
What did the Interior Ministry say about the arrests?
The two arrested are B. B. (born 2008) and N. S. (born 2006). They are suspected of causing a public danger. According to the statement, they tried to start a fire and had prepared a Molotov cocktail and balaclavas for it. Officers stopped them.
The arrests were carried out by members of the Belgrade police department’s Criminal Police Directorate (UKP), its Explosions, Fires and Accidents Investigation Unit, working with UKP officers at ministry headquarters and with the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade.
On the order of the duty public prosecutor, the suspects can be held for up to 48 hours. They are then brought before the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office with a criminal complaint. The presumption of innocence applies until a final verdict.
Where do the sources differ?
The ministry does not name the venue, but Telegraf reports that it is the MIG bar on Tresnjinog Cveta Street. That outlet lists the second suspect as S. N. and gives the ages as 18 and 20, while MUP gives the initials N. S. and birth years of 2008 and 2006. This article follows the official version.
Telegraf also cites early information that the suspects may belong to a group known as the “Vracarci.” The MUP statement does not mention this, so the claim cannot be confirmed from an official source.
What about the October 5 fire?
In a separate statement dated October 10, MUP says officers from the same unit, together with UKP at ministry headquarters, the Technical Directorate and the Juvenile Department of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, identified two minors. They are suspected of starting a fire at a hospitality venue in New Belgrade at around 3 a.m. on October 5. They were questioned over serious offenses against public safety, in connection with causing a public danger.
Telegraf reports that the venue is the “Manir” bar on Omladinskih Brigada Street. According to that outlet, the interior is almost completely destroyed and no one was injured. Residents of nearby buildings called emergency services, and firefighters contained and put out the blaze. Telegraf gives the time of the fire as around 3 a.m. in one place and around 3:30 a.m. in another. The investigation is ongoing, the outlet writes.
None of the sources links the two cases. What they share is that, according to the statements, the same UKP unit handled both and both involve hospitality venues in New Belgrade. The minors’ names have not been released.
