Surgical tools and medical equipment worth Rs 20 lakh were destroyed in a fire that broke out on the ground floor of Arctic Mall in the heart of Ranchi on Sunday morning.

A security guard at the six-storey shopping address, which opened on Booty Road only seven months ago, was the first to spot wisps of smoke around 10am and informed owner of the medical equipment store, Anup Kumar Kesri, who rushed to the spot.

"As I opened the shutter, I saw stretchers, wheelchairs and boxes of surgical tools burning," Kesri said, adding that he would not rule out sabotage at this stage. "A proper investigation is required."

Firemen said it took them nearly three hours to bring the flames under control. "Two fire tenders were deployed after 10am and they returned to the station after doing their job around 1pm," said an official at Audrey House fire station.

Bariatu thana OC D.K. Srivastava said the trigger behind the blaze was yet to be ascertained while unconfirmed sources referred to a possible short circuit.

"An FIR has been registered. We are probing the matter," OC Srivastava said even as shop owner Kesri rubbished a short circuit possibility, saying the fire was fuelled from outside the store.