By IANS,
Guwahati : A devastating fire Sunday morning partially damaged a historical building dating back to the British era in Upper Assam’s Jorhat town.
The building, built in 1852, was being used as the office-cum-residence of Upper Assam Commissioner Iftikar Hussain Hazarika, police said.
The fire broke out Sunday around 12.30 p.m. first on the ground floor and then engulfed the entire ground floor of the building, police said adding that some portion of the upper floor was also damaged. The entire building was under lock and key Sunday as Hazarika was out of station and the office was closed being a Sunday, police said.
Although no one has been injured during the fire incident, official documents and furniture worth several lakhs were damaged.
A total of 12 fire fighting vehicles belonging to the district fire service, air force and the ONGC were able to douse the fire later.
Police said that the fire was suspected to have been caused due to short-circuit.