NT Reporter Panaji
A popular restaurant, ‘Gharan’, located along the national highway in Porvorim, was gutted in a fire reportedly caused by a freak accident in the early hours of Tuesday. No one was injured, but the blaze destroyed property worth lakhs, fire officials said.
A police officer said a lamp kept at the ‘devaro’ was believed to have accidentally fallen due to the movement of rats. “Rats are seen entering the area at around 3.50 am and subsequently, within a few minutes, the fire is seen. In some time, the fire spread at around 4.24 am and the CCTV cameras stopped working as the electric current went off due to the blaze,” said the police officer.
The incident was reported to the Porvorim fire station at around 4.25 am. According to fire officials, the fire appeared to have picked up pace due to the presence of highly combustible interior furnishings, wood and other materials.
Fire personnel managed to remove five to six LPG cylinders from the restaurant in time, preventing a possible explosion. A second fire tender was pressed into service from the fire headquarters in Panaji.
Porvorim police recovered the digital video recorder from the site. While there were allegations of arson, police said CCTV footage ruled out foul play.
