117-year old church gutted in Shillong, two dead

A 117-year-old church was gutted in Meghalaya capital Shillong on the wee hours of Sunday while an elderly couple, who lived near it also died.

The fire that reduced the "Church of God" situated at the Qualapatty area of the hill station into ashes was considered as a heritage site. The fire broke out around 4 am.

After a preliminary investigation, police suspected an electric short circuit as some repairing work was going on inside the church. "The elderly couple died in suffocation as smoke had engulfed the house situated adjacent to the church. A pet dog of the couple also died. A detailed probe is on to ascertain the cause of the fire," a police official said.

Established in 1902, the Church of God is an indigenous church which is the fourth-largest denomination in the tribal-state with nearly one lakh adherents. "The church was set up by its pioneers, Rev.Wolley Mohon Roy, Rev. J. J. M. Nichols Roy, Bro. Jobin Roy Chyne and others, who were local converts. It was they who decided to start the new movement. Unlike foreign-sponsored Christian organizations, the Church of God began from the scratch and the pioneers carried out the mission work voluntarily for a good number of years," said a Christian leader.

"Meghalaya woke up to the tragic news of the Church of God, Qualapatty being gutted in fire that also claimed lives this morning. The indigenous church is one of the oldest in the state. My prayers for the deceased and the Church of God family," Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma posted on Facebook.