Rana, who had checked in the previous night and been staying in the VIP room No 1 on the first floor, alerted the room service staff when he saw smoke billowing out from VIP room No 2 opposite his.

The staff rushed to the spot and Rana, the sole occupant on the first floor, was safely taken down to the ground floor. He checked out at 8.45 am.The wood panelling and electric wiring in the first floor corridor, furniture and other things in room nos 1 and 2, and the waiting lounge on the first floor - all were burnt to ashes. The other rooms were saved probably because they were closed. The total damage is yet to be assessed. A suitcase containing important files in Rana's room was also burnt.Chief fire officer D A Gadhvi said it took nearly an hour to contain the flames with the help of five fire fighters and as manytankers.

He said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, but opined that it could be due to extra load on power supply in view of air conditioners and other gadgets. And forensic science expert M S Dihiya, who rushed to the spot along with two colleagues for a preliminary investigation, said a report would be submitted to police soon.

According to State Guest House sources, the VIP rooms 1 and 2 were booked the previous day for Union Home Minister L K Advani and Union Power Minister P R Kumaramangalam. They did not check in as their schedule was delayed. The rooms had been thoroughly checked by sniffer dogs and the bomb squad in advance, said police, ruling out any sabotage attempt.