NEW YORK (WABC) — A father and son from Long Island were caught on their own security camera burning down a building in Queens where they squatted a printing business, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Thursday.
The fire on February 18 gutted the building on 101 Avenue in Richmond Hill.
Narinder Singh and his son Jawahar had been fighting in court with their landlord, who for years had been trying to evict the print shop. The eviction proceedings “were lengthy and acrimonious,” the criminal complaint said.
On February 17, one day before the fire, a judge declined to issue a stay of eviction. Hours later, the building went up in flames.
At the scene, FDNY recovered video footage of the print shop’s interior that showed the father and son standing near a hot plate and rolls of paper towels, the complaint said. One of the rolls eventually caught fire. The fire quickly spread to other rolls of paper towels and then to boxes and other items throughout the store. They allegedly remotely turned on the hot plate that was attached to a smart plug.
Video footage showed Narinder Singh and Jawahar Singh inside the store prior to the fire and “no other person appears to enter or leave,” according to the criminal complaint.
“I believe the defendants Narinder Singh and Jawahar Singh started the fire that damaged and destroyed parts of the print shop on or about February 18, 2026,” according to FDNY Fire Marshal David Leibowitz.
Flames ended up gutting the print shop and spread to Manny Rampal’s business next door.
“It affected us big time. It’s not only our family. A couple of families run their families from that place,” said business owner, Manny Rampal.
Eyewitness News spoke by phone with Rampal about the fire and what authorities say was on ongoing dispute between the building owner and the Singhs.
“I think he thought he was never going to leave this place,” Rampal said. “Like he was going to fight with him forever.”
Narinder Singh and Jawahar Singh are now charged with malicious use of fire to damage property used in interstate commerce.
On Thursday afternoon, the younger Singh faced a federal judge and was released on bail. His dad was supposed to be in the Brooklyn courtroom but was taken to the hospital following their arrest.
ABC News contributed to this report.
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