A panchayat building was gutted in a fire incident at Laderwan village in Kupwara district late on Saturday night, local residents said.
This is the second such incident within a span of few hours in the district that witnessed 71.94 percent polling in the first phase of ongoing panchayat elections on Saturday.
The recently-constructed building, which was well-furnished, was engulfed by fire within no time at around 11.30 pm.
“Everyone tried his best to douse the flames,” said Abid Ahmad, a resident of Ladervan.
The fire tenders reached the spot and later brought the flames under control with the help of locals.
The building suffered partial damaged, a police official said, adding that the cause of fire is being ascertained.
Hours earlier, the fire broke out in a panchayat building at Nuthnusa village, damaging it partially.
“The cause of the fire is being ascertained,” senior superintendent of police Kupwara Ram Ambarkar told Greater Kashmir.
“The fire was brought under control with the help of fire tenders and locals,” he said.