News & Pics: Silvester D’Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (EP)
Kundapur, Jan 24: A tailoring shop in Mandarthi near Durgaparameshwari temple here caught fire late night on Friday January 23 causing an estimated loss of Rs four lac.
The shop was completely gutted and the clothes brought for stitching along with sewing machine and furniture has turned to ashes.
The shop situated a little away from the temple, belonged to Chandra Achar and was run by a person named Suguna on rent for about seven to eight months.
There was a dispute between the management committee of the temple and Achar. The management had demolished a structure built by Achar two months ago saying that it was built on government land. The women in the house of Achar were injured in the incident and a complaint was lodged in the police station.
The fire in the shop within two months of demolition of the structure has raised suspicion among locals. As per the building owner, everything was calm when he last saw the shop at about 11.30 pm that night.
The sound of a gas cylinder blast was heard at around 1 am in the early hours of January 24 and when the people got up and rushed to the spot, they saw the entire shop engulfed in flames. The owner along with the locals tried to extinguish the fire with the help of water pump but could not succeed.
Brahmavar police arrived at the spot and conducted inspection. Forensic experts came on Saturday afternoon and investigated the spot.
There was electricity till about one hour after the incident. As the gas cylinder burst after the fire engulfed the shop, short circuit or gas leak has been ruled out as the cause. There were no lamps or anything that could have ignited the fire, indicating that it was not an accident.
As people rushed to extinguish the fire, they were able to avert further loss. There were plenty of wooden items in the house below and if that had caught fire, it would have spread to the houses and building nearby causing further damage to property and human life.
Chandra Achar alleged a foul play in the incident and pleaded police to trace the culprits immediately.