A short circuit appears to have caused a late-night fire at the SBI branch at Pokharia in Maoist-affected Purbi Tundi block of Dhanbad, about 25km from the district headquarters, damaging the cash counter and a few articles, including a computer and a passbook printer.

Local residents noticed smoke from the building around 5am and alerted bank officials and police. A team of policemen led by officer in charge Kamal Nath Munda, who rushed to the site, called in the fire brigade which took around 30 minutes to bring the fire under control.

Later on, senior officials of the bank branch, led by manager Shiv Shankar Mishra, reached the spot and took stock of the situation. Tundi DSP Himanshu Chandra Manjhi also reached the site.

Mishra said: “It seems that the fire has been caused by a short circuit. Rats may have gnawed at the wires, causing their plastic cover to be damaged. These naked wires coming in contact with each other could have sparked the fire.”

“We are in the process of assessing the damage,” said Mishra. There was no loss of cash during the incident, he added.

Munda said: “Sabotage does not seem to be the reason behind the incident.”