Man charged in car fire

By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
   A Cranbury man was charged Oct. 3 with improperly storing chemicals in his car, causing it to explode in his driveway.
   Dalbir Sethi, 65, of Plainsboro Road, was charged by the New Jersey State Police with one count of causing or risking widespread injury or damage and one count of obstructing the administration of law, said Sgt. Julian Castellanos, spokesman for the state police.
   The charges stem from a Sept. 25 car explosion and car fire at Mr. Sethi’s home that drew investigators from the Cranbury Police Department, the state police and agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.
   Sgt. Castellanos said he was unable to confirm either the time or location where the arrest occurred.
   Mr. Sethi appeared in front of Superior Court Judge Barbara Stolte in New Brunswick on Friday where his bail was set at $35,000. He was released Saturday.
   Sgt. Stephen Jones, also a spokesman for the state police, said investigators believe Mr. Sethi had transported the chemical from his workplace in Plainsboro, FMC Corp., a Philadelphia-based chemical company involved with the manufacturing of agricultural, specialty and industrial chemicals where he is a supervisor.
   One of the investigators’ theories is that Mr. Sethi was going to use the chemicals to clean out his septic system when heat from the car caused a chemical reaction that led to the explosion, Sgt. Jones said. Authorities are not releasing any information concerning the type of chemicals believed to have been stored in the vehicle at the time of the incident, Sgt. Jones said.
   Mr. Sethi has a patent on an invention that relates to an improved method for recovering hydrogen peroxide in an auto-oxidation process, according to freshpatents.com.
   Calls made to FMC Corp. and the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office were not immediately returned.