Fire at Central Bank of India branch in Chhattisgrah's Bilaspur

Bilaspur: A fire broke out at a branch of a public sector bank in Chhattisgarhs Bilaspur district in the wee hours of Sunday, police said.

There was no report of any casualty, they said.

The fire was reported around 1.30 am at the Central Bank of India's branch in Kota town, located around 30 km from here, when some locals saw smoke emanating from the bank building, said Rajkumar Sori, station house officer, Kota police station.

Soon after being alerted, fire brigade vehicles were rushed from Bilaspur town to Kota and the blaze was brought under control by 5 am, he said.

Several documents, computers, furniture and other equipment were gutted in the fire, the official said, adding that the cash in the bank's currency chest was safe.

Though the exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, it is suspected that a short-circuit could have triggered the blaze, Sori said, adding that an investigation was underway.

The banks branch manager Dipak Mehta said the value of the gutted property was yet to be assessed.

He said some important documents and cash kept in the chest were safe.