Mangaluru: A private lodge and a restaurant attached to it at Manipal in Udupi district was gutted following a fire in the early hours of Friday, police said.

A short circuit is suspected to be the cause of the blaze which engulfed the restaurant-cum-bar attached to the lodge, situated near the Manipal Institute of Technology.

Fire service personnel rushed to the spot and doused the fire.

Furniture, liquor bottles and other items were fully destroyed in the fire, police said, adding the loss is estimated to be worth lakhs of rupees.