At least 84 shops were gutted in a blaze at a market complex in the Meghalaya capital on Friday, officials said.
However, no casualties were reported in the inferno that broke out around 4 AM. Three fire tenders doused the blaze after several hours of firefight.
A vendor at the market complex told PTI that goods worth lakhs of rupees have been damaged.
Officials of the Fire Department and the Shillong Municipal Board suspected that a short circuit might have caused the incident.
Local MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.
The legislator will meet Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma later in the day and discuss the relocation of the affected vendors.