A kava stall was mysteriously burnt on Monday night, in the Lautoka Market with no signs of forced entry.

The surprising part was that only the area where the kava, worth around $5000, was stacked was burnt and no other areas or tables which were only a few feet away.

When told, Minister for Local Government, Housing, Environment, Infrastructure and Transport Parveen Kumar said: “There must have been a break in.”

The owner of the kava stall, Aklesh Kumar said he had been selling at the market for 15 years, but had never come across anything like this.

“I left the market at around 5.15pm on Monday when it was closing time.”

Mr Kumar said he did not store any diya or lamp in his stall.

The market is enclosed and all gates are locked during closing time.

The fire was spotted after 10pm by a security officer at the adjacent Sugar City Mall who then alerted the market master.

Mr Kumar said he was notified at around 10.50pm and came down to see the stall.

Lautoka City Council chief executive officer Jone Nakauvadra was attending the Local Government Forum at the Tanoa Waterfront Hotel. When contacted he said the matter was being handled by Police.

He said the council’s electrician had checked for any electrical fault. But there are no electrical wiring where the kava stall is located.

Edited by Rusiate Mataika

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