22 shops gutted in Margherita market arson

Dibrugarh: A total of 22 shops were gutted in a fire that broke out at the daily market in Tinsukia district's Margherita early on Saturday.The fire was reportedly a case of arson, with CCTV footage revealing that a miscreant deliberately set fire to a shop, triggering a massive inferno that quickly spread to other shops.According to police, the fire started around 1:20 am and rapidly engulfed several shops in the area. Fire emergency services were quick to respond. However, it took until 8 am to completely extinguish the fire."Fire emergency services responded within 20 minutes of the initial report, but the proximity of the shops and the intensity of the blaze made it extremely challenging to contain," a fire department official said.Margherita co-district commissioner Parikshit Thoudam visited the site to assess the damage and promptly initiated an enquiry into the incident. The loss assessment process is currently underway to determine the extent of the damages caused by the fire.Police are currently reviewing CCTV footage from a nearby shop, which captured a person setting fire to a shop. The 2-minute and 37-second long footage shows an unidentified individual, whose face is not clearly visible, igniting the fire and then calmly leaving the scene after waiting for some time.Police officials have urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward and assist with the investigation."I got a call from the market at around 1.55 am that a fire had broken out. I ran and found that my shop was engulfed in flames. I could not save anything and my entire shop was gutted. Goods worth Rs 18-20 lakh were destroyed in the fire. Most of the shop owners have suffered significant losses," Satyajit Das, a fashion shop owner said.Dibrugarh: A total of 22 shops were gutted in a fire that broke out at the daily market in Tinsukia district's Margherita early on Saturday.The fire was reportedly a case of arson, with CCTV footage revealing that a miscreant deliberately set fire to a shop, triggering a massive inferno that quickly spread to other shops.According to police, the fire started around 1:20 am and rapidly engulfed several shops in the area. Fire emergency services were quick to respond. However, it took until 8 am to completely extinguish the fire."Fire emergency services responded within 20 minutes of the initial report, but the close proximity of the shops and the intensity of the blaze made it extremely challenging to contain," a fire department official said.Margherita co-district commissioner Parikshit Thoudam visited the site to assess the damage and promptly initiated an enquiry into the incident. The loss assessment process is currently underway to determine the extent of the damages caused by the fire.Police are currently reviewing CCTV footage from a nearby shop, which captured a person setting fire to a shop. The 2 minute and 37-second long footage shows an unidentified individual, whose face is not clearly visible, igniting the fire and then calmly leaving the scene after waiting for some time.Police officials have urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward and assist with the investigation."I got a call from the market at around 1.55 am that a fire has broken out. I ran and found that my shop was engulfed in flames. I could not save anything and my entire shop was gutted. Goods worth Rs 18-20 lakh were destroyed in the fire. Most of the shop owners have suffered significant losses," Satyajit Das, a fashion shop owner said.
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