Ahead of the Vinayaka chathurthi, a mysterious fire which broke out on Kadai Veedhi and Peria Kadai Veedhi here on Saturday midnight had led to police deploying additional security forces.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel said that they received a fire call around 11 p.m. following which a vehicle from Natham fire station was pressed into service. The fighters took almost an hour to put out the fire.
However, within a span of 15 minutes, a similar fire broke out on the Peria Kadai Veedhi, where in a few night eateries and mobile phone shops, a non-vegetarian restaurant, a roadside temple and 10 small outlets were gutted.
Superintendent of Police Saktivel, DSP Gopal, District Fire Officer Chandrakumar, Tahsildar John Bastian and others from the revenue department inspected the site.
According to the fire officers, a godown stocked with plantains belonging to Sheik Abdullah on Kadai Veedhi and the night eatery owned by Kadar Batcha on the Peria Kadai Veedhi were gutted.
Whether the fire was due to electric short circuit or was it a handiwork of some antisocials is were being probed by a team of officers. To ensure that there was no more such incidents, security had been enhanced in the locality, an Inspector of Police said.
Ahead of the Vinayaka chaturthi, the bandobust had been tightened in the district and peripheries, another officer said. The Natham police have registered a case.
