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Police to ascertain cause of fire at furniture market in Chandigarh
The market has around 115 furniture shops and this was the tenth major fire incident reported here since 2001.
A first incident report (FIR) was lodged by the police to ascertain the cause of the fire that gutted 17 shops at the furniture market in Sector 53/54 roundabout, Chandigarh-Mohali border road, on Monday night.
Taking suo motto cognizance of the incident, officials of Sector 36 police station registered a case on Tuesday under Section 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc) of the Indian Penal Code against unidentified persons.
The market has around 115 furniture shops and this was the tenth major fire incident reported here since 2001.
A police official, familiar to the incident, said, “To probe the case, we questioned three migrants living near the area. However, nothing conclusive came out from it. The problem is that it is difficult to determine the origin of the fire as all the evidence has been destroyed.”
“Also, people heading the furniture market union are not cooperative and don’t help us with any information,” he added.
Meanwhile, sources privy to the matter said that the shop owners had called the insurance agents to ensure that they inspect the sites and later reimburse the payment.
No headway in previous case
The investigation of a similar fire incident at the Sector 53 market in December 2018 is yet to reach a conclusive end. The major fire had consumed 30 shops and those involved in the trade feared losses to the tune of ₹3-4 crore. The police had called Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) teams, but so far no report of the fire has been shared with the police department. Police have not rounded up or arrested any person in the case.
‘Administration overlooking demand for relocation’
The shopkeepers allege that the UT administration has been overlooking their demand for relocation to a safer place.
It is learnt the traders are running their business illegally as they do not have a licence. The UT administration had tried to evict them, but they got a stay order from the Punjab and Haryana high court in 1993. Thereafter, there has been no move to shift the market.
Past incidents
The previous major fire was reported in September 2016, when nine shops were gutted in fire started by wielding work in one of the shops.
In 2015, eight shops were reduced to ashes while five were gutted in 2014.
In 2012, as many as 22 shops were destroyed. Similar incidents were reported in 2001, 2002 and 2009.
