JAMSHEDPUR: A total of 51 shops were gutted in a massive fire at Musaboni market in Ghatshila sub division on Monday.Police said the fire broke out around 4.30 am and spread rapidly to adjacent places, turning the shops spread across four lanes to ashes .Early morning walkers who first saw the high flames emanating from the market informed the local police, following which five fire-brigade teams arrived at the spot and brought it under control after five hours.The fire-fighting teams from Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL), Hindustan Copper Ltd (HLC) and the state fire service department fought the high rise flames all morning.The officer in-charge of Musaboni police station, Suresh Linda, said the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained but said there was no casualty.He also did not rule out foul play by anti-social elements as the shopkeepers were surprised by the the timing of the incident."In 2017 around the Durga Puja them, fire broke out in the same market, resulting in great loss and this year too, the timing of the incident is the same," said Suraj Prasad, one of the shopkeepers who has suffered losses in the fire.Other shopkeepers said mostly makeshift vegetable stalls have been damaged in fire. However, a few proper shops selling clothes, cosmetics and utensils have also been reduced to embers.They further said the value of property destroyed will run into lakhs of rupees.Ghatshila MLA Laxman Tudu, who visited the incident site, has assured the shopkeepers that the district administration will be asked to constitute a team to probe the cause of the fire thoroughly and find out if any criminals are involved in it."From the security point of view, a meeting with bazaar samiti will be organized to identify the places where CCTVs could be installed," Tudu said.

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