A fire completely gutted two shops and partially damaged an equal number of stalls at College Halt here on Tuesday afternoon.

The affected shopowners have pegged the losses at ₹50 lakh.

Sources said initially, thick smoke had billowed out of a shop around 1.15pm. Soon, flames engulfed four shops.

Within 15 minutes, two fire tenders reached the spot to douse the blaze.

When a large crowd gathered, police kept the onlookers at a safe distance so that the firemen could do their work.

The fire was brought under control within an hour. Representatives of the College Halt Byabsayee Samiti, a local trade body, said a jewelry shop and a shop selling hardware items were completely damaged in the fire.

A photocopier stall and another shop selling cosmetics and stationery items were partially damaged, along with a house.

During the preliminary investigation, it was found that some people had gathered dry leaves in a house beside the hardware shop and had set those on fire.