Four persons were arraigned on Tuesday in the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court of Judge R. Scott Krichbaum to face arson and insurance fraud charges related to the Oct. 8 blaze that leveled the Spice of India restaurant at 8398 Market St.
      The business closed down just days before the fire.
      Charged were Raj Ingle, 39, of 31 Carter Circle, #6; his niece, Sonya Bhatia, 24, also of 31 Carter Circle, #6; as well as Chris Reynolds, 20, of 4021 Frederick Dr., Liberty; and Jesse Winphrie, 22, of 408 Woodside, Youngstown.
      Ingle was apparently operating the restaurant at the time of the fire; although court records indicated he was involved in a dispute with Gundek Singh, of West Chester, Oh. over ownership of the business. Ingle also owns a home in Solon, Oh.; and is also the operator of Jewels and More in the Southern park Mall.
      All four were arrested last week by the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force, and thy spent last weekend in the county jail while awaiting their initial court appearance.
      Investigation of the fire determined an accelerant, likely gasoline, was ignited to start the blaze.
      Leading the investigation into the fire were Boardman police Det. Glenn Patton and Boardman Fire Prevention Officer Lt. James McCreary.
      Loss in the fire was estimated at $225,000.
      According to records obtained by The Boardman News, attempts were made to reach Ingle in the early morning hours when the fire was first reported.
      Those attempts ended when, according to police records, Ingle’s wife called Boardman police to advise that Raj had been drinking and authorities would have to call his niece.
      Additionally, the Spice of India property is owned by Nicholas Tzarnas, of 39 Indianola Rd. He had the building razed following the fire.