MADHUPUR: A sweet shop at Madhupur East Bazar was gutted by fire on Thursday night, leaving owner Krishna Sharma with losses estimated at around ₹5 lakh.
According to Sharma, he switched off the shop’s electrical switches as usual before leaving around 10-10:30 pm and returned home. He was later alerted by Madhupur police station that flames had broken out at the shop. Rushing to the spot, he found police and Bishalgarh fire department personnel attempting to douse the blaze, but the shop, along with equipment including two refrigerators and other machinery, plus an estimated ₹12,000 in cash, could not be saved.
Sharma had opened the shop roughly five to six months ago with a bank loan and relied on it as his family’s main source of income. He attributed the fire to an electrical short circuit, though some traders in the market have speculated it may not have been accidental — a claim Sharma has not endorsed.
Local leaders across party lines, including BJP and CPI(M) representatives, visited the site and condemned the incident, urging authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.