Probe into fire accident begins

BANGALORE: Investigation started at a rapid pace to probe into the fire incident at the annexe building of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). A complaint has been filed with the Ulsoor Gate police station to probe into the matter and a seven-member team is formed under the leadership of BBMP Special Commissioner to internally probe the fire incident.While that was on, Karnataka Home Minister R Ashok, BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah along with  Joint Commissioners inspected the Bangalore Task Force Station to inspect if the fire was due to short circuit.  Electrical Inspectorate’s senior technical expert Nagaraj and officials from the Forensic Science Laboratory inspected the Bangalore Task Force Station and have taken preliminary samples. A six member team from Ulsoor Gate police station carried out investigation between 11 am and 5 pm. With the statement from police officials that there were no clues available, confusion prevailed on whether the fire accident was planned well in advance or due to short circuit. The officials were trying to restore CCTV footages. Addressing the media, R Ashok said “All the documents pertaining to BBMPs multi-crore scam are safe. A special team has been framed to probe into the matter under BBMP Special Commissioner. The team will submit a report in next 15 days. Also we are looking into the footage of the CCTVs.” Insisting that all the multi-crore documents were safe, BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah said “Officials of the electric division have inspected the spot and will submit a report on Monday. We will get a clear picture after the forensic officers give a report.” When TNIE spoke to the six-member team from Ulsoor Gate police station, they said, “Complete investigation is not over. We have not found any important clues.  Action will resume on Monday after reports from the forensic lab is ready. Only the electric experts can tell us whether the fire was due to short-circuit . Meanwhile, sources claimed that Home Minister R Ashok chose to attend a wedding of his follower in Padmanabnagar instead of inspection.He inspected the spot at about 12 pm, only after attending the wedding.