Ranchi, Oct. 10: A fire, most likely caused by a short-circuit, blazed across an electronic showroom at GEL Church Complex under Lower Bazar police station area, gutting goods worth lakhs before fire tenders put it out.

Though the extent of damage caused by the blaze at Kamalia Sales, on the ground floor of the complex, was not yet ascertained, sources put the damage between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh.

The fire, which caused panic among customers, was noticed at around 1pm. Though there were no casualties, the ensuing chaos, with people fleeing from the market complex in droves, halted traffic.

But, fire fighters reached the spot within 10 minutes and fought the flames for almost two hours. “We ensured that the fire was controlled and did not spread to other shops,” said firefighter Sanjay Mahto.

Though the shop was insured against fire, owner Kunal Kamalia said the fire would affect his business adversely during the festive season. “I am assessing damages,” he said.

GEL Church Complex administrator S.K.Chatterjee said this was the first case of fire in the complex set up in 1985.