Video shows father, son burning down Queens building where they squatted print shop: Prosecutors

A father and son from Long Island were filmed on their own security camera setting fire to a Queens building where they were squatting at a printing shop, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn announced Thursday.

The February 18 fire ravaged the building on 101st Avenue in Richmond Hill.

Narinder Singh and his son Jawahar were fighting in court against their landlord, who had been trying for years to evict the printing company. The eviction process “was lengthy and acrimonious,” the criminal complaint states.

On February 17, a day before the fire, a judge refused to grant a stay of the eviction. A few hours later, the building caught fire.

While there, the FDNY recovered video footage from inside the print shop showing the father and son standing near a hot plate and rolls of paper towels, according to the complaint. One of the rollers ended up catching fire. The fire quickly spread to other rolls of paper towels, then to boxes and other items in the store. They would have remotely turned on the hot plate connected to a smart socket.

Video footage showed Narinder Singh and Jawahar Singh inside the store before the fire and “no other people appear to be entering or exiting,” according to the criminal complaint.

“I believe defendants Narinder Singh and Jawahar Singh started the fire that damaged and destroyed portions of the printing plant on or about February 18, 2026,” according to FDNY Fire Marshal David Leibowitz.

The flames eventually destroyed the print shop and spread to Manny Rampal’s neighboring business.

“It’s affected us a lot. It’s not just our family. A few families run their families from this place,” said business owner Manny Rampal.

Eyewitness News spoke with Rampal by phone about the fire and what authorities say is an ongoing dispute between the building’s owner and the Singhs.

“I think he thought he would never leave this place,” Rampal said. “Like he’s 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 appeared before a federal judge and was released on bail. His father was supposed to be in the Brooklyn courtroom, but was taken to the hospital after their arrest.

ABC News contributed to this report.

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