A massive fire broke out at Pengaree, a remote Nagapather village in Tinsukia District on Saturday midnight, amidst magh bihu celebrations. According to local residents, three Kaccha shops including a grocery, stationery and a cement godown were razed to ashes.
The owners Puspa Gogoi , Dharmeswar Baruah and Bishnu Gogoi of the shops suffered huge material losses.
Meanwhile, a local Singpho resident told the media that the incident occurred while the villagers were enjoying magh bihu celebrations and local Buddhist followers were returning home after attending a religious festival (Poi) from a nearby Inthem Singpho village.
Though the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, the local sources informed that the miscreants must have perpetrated the crime adding ‘ the grocery stealing was attempted four times earlier by the thieves. The thieves took advantage of the festive occasion.
The Pengaree police rushed to the spot to assess the property damage which is estimated at several lakhs of rupees.