Trader burnt alive, 7 shops gutted

A fuel trader was burnt alive and seven shops were gutted in a fire at Chaprashirhat under Kabirhat upazila in Noakhali early yesterday.

The victim was identified as Abdul Halim, 70, of Char Fakira village in the upazila.

Two fuel shops, two stationery shops, two grocery shops and one medicine store were gutted in the fire.

Officer-in-Charge Mukter Ali of Kabirhat Police Station quoted locals as saying that said some people saw smoke coming out from a shop when they were going to say Fajr prayers at a mosque in the area at around 4:00am. Hearing their shouts, locals rushed to the spot and tried to douse the fire with water from a nearby pond.

On information, a fire-fighting unit from Companiganj upazila headquarters went to the spot and extinguished the blaze after an hour of frantic efforts. By this time, fuel trader Abdul Halim was burnt to death and the shops were gutted.