The director’s bungalow of the closed Singtom tea estate in Darjeeling hills was completely gutted after a fire that broke out on Sunday night.

Fire tenders from Darjeeling reached the spot and doused the flames. Police said they initiated a probe and a forensic team would be engaged to ascertain the cause of the fire.

In Singtom, this is the second such incident in less than a week. On October 9, the assistant manager’s bungalow at the same garden had been reduced to ashes in a similar blaze.

Representatives of the tea company that owns the garden suspected this to be an incident of arson.

Sources said that around midnight, some workers saw the bungalow was in flames and informed the police. Soon, a police team and fire tenders from Darjeeling reachedthe spot.

The tea estate is located around 10km from the hill town and has around 680 workers. Since September 25, the garden has been closed as the manager and the assistant manager have left the garden. Also, tea workers of Singtom have not received their bonuses so far, triggering protests.

Sources said in the same garden, three bungalows were converted into resorts around three years back with a total of 12 rooms. Thebungalow where the fire broke out on Sunday was one of those bungalows.

“Talks over bonus were in progress. There was no problem with the trade unions. We suspect it could be a handiwork of some criminals,” said a source in the management.

As protests over the settlement of the bonus were on, only some 400 workers were joining theirduties at the garden before its closure last month.

“Tea worth around ₹35 lakh was stored in the factory and could not dispatched because of the protests,” the source added.

Praween Prakash, the superintendent of police of Darjeeling, said police got the information between 11.30pm on Saturday andmidnight and immediately informed the fire station.

“Their (fire brigade) timely intervention controlled the flames and the fire did not spread in the adjacent areas. A probe is on and the forensic team will ascertain the cause of the fire,” the SP said.

Bharat Thakuri, general secretary of the Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha which backs the Himalayan Terai Dooars Plantation Workers Union (HTDPWU), said that they too, were gathering information about the incident.

“We are in contact with our representatives at the garden. It is an unfortunate incident and we hope the garden reopens soon,” he said.

Sources in the tea industry said if it is an incident of arson, then it is an “alarming trend” for the industry.

Ajay Edwards, the chief of the Hamro Party in Darjeeling, also expressed his concern over the fire at the tea garden bungalow.

In a social media post, Edwards has said that if it was arson, those involved should be punished.

“This kind of activity has to be condemned by all. A sad day for Darjeeling,” he posted.