One killed as fire breaks out at grain mandi

One person was killed while grains worth several lakhs of rupees were gutted as a fire broke out at a grain mandi in the Highway police station area in Mathura district.

The incident took place during the wee hours on Monday.

"Exact loss is being ascertained. The charred body of a person could not be identified so far," fire station officer Vijai Prakash said.

Five fire tenders were used to douse the blaze that engulfed nearly two dozen grain shops made of bamboo strips, he said.

"The cause of the fire is being enquired. However, investigations so far reveal that probably the victim had thrown a half-burnt bidi in the shop made of bamboo strips," the official said.

"He could not come out of the shop since he was probably in an inebriated state," he stated.