As of: February 19, 2024, 7:00 p.m
By: Josef Ametsbichler
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Completely destroyed: Smoke comes out of the shop on the Schwaben market square while the fire is being extinguished.
The police quickly assumed it was arson, but the arrests were a long time coming.
© Gaulke
The shop owner himself is said to have commissioned the fire in the “Süpermarket” in Markt Schwaben two years ago.
A few days ago the police arrested him.
Markt Schwaben
– Gökhan K.’s cell phone rings, but no one answers.
Since Shrove Tuesday, February 13th, its owner is no longer a free man.
The 36-year-old, once the operator of the Turkish “Süpermarket” in Markt Schwaben, is in custody.
More than two years ago, he is said to have incited a 35-year-old Iranian, who was also in prison, to set fire to the shop.
According to reports, the Munich II public prosecutor's office is alleging that the crime was intended to defraud the insurance company. However, the presumption of innocence continues to apply until a conviction is made.
Fire in Markt Schwaben: Police have been investigating for two years - now the arrest
What has changed, however, is the perspective of the prosecution and the police investigators on the events late in the evening of January 22, 2022. At that time, a fire broke out in the Turkish grocery store, which burned its way through the house to the roof and the building was almost ruined reduced.
The investigators quickly suspected Gökhan K. In a press release around two weeks after the fire, the police named a then 34-year-old Turkish citizen.
In Markt Schwaben, where the shop was prominently located on the market square, it quickly became clear to everyone: It had to be the operator himself.
What subsequently causes frowns and doubts in this case: the accused, who also has the presumption of innocence, remains at large for two years.
Shortly after the fire, he gave a desperate interview to the Ebersberger Zeitung: “That was my baby, my existence!” When he was then named as the accused, Gökhan K. seemed to be taken aback.
Six months after the fire, he visits the editorial office and comments again on what happened.
It wasn't him, he didn't get anything out of it because the insurance sum was ridiculous, he had to file for personal bankruptcy and was heavily in debt.
“I put everything I have into the store,” K. said at the time.
Allegations: five counts of aggravated arson and attempted manslaughter
Today it can be heard that the insurance benefit presented did not correspond to the actual one, so that fraud was certainly a motive.
The public prosecutor's office does not comment on this.
However, a spokesman tells the EZ that the assessment of the situation with regard to the previously accused person has recently increased from “suspect” to “strongly suspected”, hence the arrest warrant.
Not only is there suspicion of serious arson, but also attempted homicide in five cases - that's how many people were in the building when the fire broke out.
Victim or perpetrator?
– As far as the shop owner Gökhan K. is concerned, the police and the public prosecutor have now apparently decided.
© Johannes Dziemballa
Apparently there had been extensive surveillance measures by the police against the suspect.
In addition, his alleged accomplice, who was arrested a year and a half after the fire last July, contributed to the new assessment with his statements, explains the public prosecutor's office.
The two would have known each other.
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Investigators suspect: Joint arson - customers shocked
In plain language, you can understand it like this: Gökhan K. could have incited a friend to set the shop on fire in order to have an alibi for himself.
Then the Iranian was arrested - apparently he testified.
Days after the fire, K. told the
EZ
that he was with acquaintances in nearby Pastetten when he found out about the fire and rushed to the scene in his car, where he had to watch his life's work go up in smoke.
A court will probably have to judge what actually happened that night.
In Markt Schwaben, the arson didn't just leave a structural wound in the town center.
Many of Gökhan K.'s customers, who was considered a popular local businessman, were shocked and found it hard to believe the allegations.
A donation account was even set up for the shop owner.
The investigators, on the other hand, seem certain that the clarification of the events of that January night is entering the decisive phase after more than two years of investigation.
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