A fire broke out at a warehouse near the Shapar industrial area here, gutting a huge stock of groundnut worth about Rs 3 crore, officials said today.
The blaze erupted late last night in the rented warehouse and was still raging, a police officer said.
This is the second major incident of fire at a groundnut warehouse in Rajkot district in three months.
Gujarat Agriculture Minister R C Faldu ordered a high-level probe into the incident, and said it could be an attempt to malign the image of the state BJP government as such accidents were happening regularly.
A huge stock of groundnut, purchased from farmers in Gujarat by NAFED (National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) was stored in the godown, located in the industrial area on the city's outskirts.
"The exact cause of the fire was not immediately known. We have formed three to four teams and launched an investigation to find out whether it was an accident or a conspiracy. We will take stern action against those involved in it," district Superintendent of Police (SP) Antrip Sood said.
He said once the fire is brought under control, the forensic team would be able to take samples to ascertain the cause of the blaze, he said.
Rajkot district collector Rahul Gupta said fire tenders from Rajkot and Jetpur were pressed into service.
"It's difficult to say when the flames would be brought under control," he said.
In February, groundnut worth Rs 28 crore was gutted in fire at a godown in the district's Gondal taluka.
The agriculture minister said it was a serious issue and that the incident could be a bid to tarnish the BJP government's image.
"Out of the total 42,000 sacks kept in that private warehouse, we have managed to save 15,000 sacks. But, around 26,000 sacks, having groundnut worth Rs 3 crore, were gutted in the fire. This is a serious issue and we will not take it lightly as such incidents are happening regularly," he said.
"This groundnut was procured by the Centre (through NAFED). Thus, it is possible that some people may not like it. I firmly believe that it could be a deliberate attempt to malign the BJP government's image. We will not spare anyone who is found guilty of this conspiracy," Faldu said.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the district collector and the SP were probing the incident.
The Gujarat Congress has demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
"This is a conspiracy as such incidents are taking place at regular intervals. We demand that the CBI probe all such incidents," state Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.
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