Fire destroys Shillong state assembly building

A fire has completely destroyed the historic state assembly building in the north-east Indian city of Shillong.

All the building's invaluable records have been lost in the blaze, which police say may have been arson.

Shillong was the capital first of the British province of Assam, and then the larger Indian state of Assam.

Finally it became the capital of Meghalaya state -- so the assembly buildings had been the seat of three governments.

The authorities say an electrical fault may have sparked the blaze, but the police say that they haven't ruled out an arson attack by a rebel group which recently threatened to blow up the building.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service