Fire breaks out at Bihar minister's house; no casualty

PATNA: A fire broke out at the official residence of Bihar Minister for Minor Irrigation and SC/ST Welfare, Santosh Kumar Suman, in Patna on Wednesday, fire department officials said.

Suman, son of former chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Jitan Ram Manjhi, and his family members were present at the house when the fire was detected.

However, no casualty was reported in the incident.

The blaze broke out in the morning on the ground floor of the ministerial bungalow located on Strand Road and it burnt clothes, furniture and electronic equipment before it was doused by two fire tenders in around a couple of hours.

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained but the possibility of short-circuit cannot be ruled out, a senior fire department official said.

"I don't know whether fire prevention systems have been installed in the building or not. We all were inside the house when the fire broke out at 8 am," the minister said.

The incident must be probed, the HAM leader told reporters.