At least 17 shops were gutted in a huge blaze that broke out at Fashion Street in Pune Cantonment area early Sunday morning
Fire Brigade officials said that the conflagration may have been caused due to a short circuit in electricity meters, but locals alleged that someone with ulterior motive perpetrated the incident.
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Fashion Street has around 450 shops, of which outlets in lane numbers 101 to 121 caught fire. Speaking to MiD DAY, fire officer Prakash Gore said, “We received a call around 4.45 am about the blaze. Three fire tenders and three water tankers were sent to the area. As the lanes were narrow, we had to join the pipes to access the exact spot. The fire was doused around 5.30 am.
MG road hawkers’ association member Yusuf Khan demandedan inquiry into the incident, stating that there are chances this wasn’t an accident.
Inspector Nitin Jadhav of Cantonment police station said, “We are analysing the CCTV footage of the spot. Since the fire broke out near the electricity meters, we had also called upon MSEDCL officials to inspect the site and give their expert opinion.”u00a0