Landlord who deliberately set fire to family shop banned from renting

A Glasgow landlord has been banned from renting properties after he deliberately set fire to his family shop in the Gallowgate alongside his brother.

Councillors refused to add Sohail Ahmed to the city’s landlord register after hearing of his “stupid act” which saw him sentenced to prison.

Ahmed, 40, was convicted of attempting to defraud insurance relating to the fire incident five years ago as he rang the insurance company to lodge a claim over the damage.

A retired solicitor acting on behalf of Ahmed said his client and brother had only tried to cause “smoke damage to the shop” to persuade their father to return to Glasgow from abroad.

The solicitor told councillors sitting on today’s licensing and regulatory committee that Ahmed’s father had remarried in Pakistan after returning to the country during lockdown – leaving their mother.

Glasgow & West

Brothers jailed for setting fire to family shop in insurance scam

Sahail and Kasim Ahmed were involved in setting fire to the premises in Glasgow’s Gallowgate on May 16, 2020.

The solicitor said “stupidly they tried to smoke damage the shop” so their father would come back to the city.

He added: “But it ended up badly damaged and they had to phone the fire brigade.”

It is understood the east end shop was called the International Mobile Phone Centre.

The meeting heard Ahmed was released from prison in 2024 and had not informed Glasgow City Council about the conviction as he didn’t realise he had to.

The solicitor added: “He has paid the price for his crime. He has been to jail.”

Committee chair Alex Wilson pointed out the incident could have led to an out of control fire.

Commenting on Ahmed’s claim that he was trying to persuade his father to return from Pakistan, councillor Sean Ferguson asked what other attempts had been made apart from the “drastic action” of torching the shop.

He was told the sons had phoned him constantly.

Councillor Ferguson added: “A fire can get out of control in 30 or 40 seconds and engulf a shop or room – not just putting yourselves at risk but also adjacent properties.

“It was a profoundly stupid act.”

The councillors refused to enter Ahmed into the register of private landlords.