Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The seven-member probe team, tasked to investigate the fire at the old Mantralaya building, handed over its preliminary report to the government on Tuesday. The one-page report has cited spark in electric wires as probable reason behind the fire. The head of the probe committee, additional chief secretary Mohammad Suleman, told Free Press that a preliminary probe report has been submitted to the general administration department. He refused to divulge the details of the report.
However, one of the members of the probe team said that the one-page report cites the reason behind the fire, the statements of employees taken and the report of the inspection conducted by the team members. Fire broke out in an old Mantralaya building last Saturday.
Initially the blaze started at 2nd floor and then spread to 3rd and 4th floor of Vallabh Bhawan and it was contained there immediately. But fire on the fifth floor intensified owing to the high velocity winds. The files kept in CM’s Discretionary Fund and offices of the Minister of State were completely gutted in the fire. While the exact extent of the damage remains unknown, it is evident that thousands of files were either consumed by the flames or damaged by water used to control the blaze. The committee will submit the final report within fifteen days of the incident.
