A massive fire broke out in a major building of the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka on Thursday (December 26, 2024), destroying government documents. Officials suspect that the incident was carried out with the intention of damaging government documents and a high-level investigation committee has been formed in this regard.
A fire broke out in building number seven of Bangladesh Secretariat and the fire was brought under control after about six hours of hard work. According to officials, seven ministries are present in the nine-storey building. A fire broke out in the high security complex on Thursday morning. However, there is no news of any casualty in the fire incident. “A fire broke out simultaneously at three places in the building yesterday (Wednesday) after midnight,” fire service chief Brigadier General Zahed Kamal told reporters.
He indicated that the fire probably did not start accidentally. Officials said the fire disrupted power supply, forcing the building and other ministries to halt their normal functioning while security agencies restricted entry into the complex, preventing many employees from entering the complex.
He said that most of the rooms located on the sixth, seventh and eighth floors of building number seven were badly damaged, while documents and furniture of the local administration, posts and telecommunications ministries were burnt. “Many documents were also damaged by the water used to extinguish the fire,” an official said after visiting the building. Pigeons living in different parts of the building were found dead and the windows were broken.
Asif Mahmood Sajeeb Bhuiyan, advisor to the interim government, said, ‘The conspirators have not stopped their activities.’ He said the documents that were damaged included documents and evidence exposing corruption worth millions of dollars that took place during the ousted Awami League regime. Bhuiyan said, ‘If anyone is found involved in failing us (in action against corruption), he will not be given even the slightest chance to escape (from punitive action).’
Meanwhile, officials constituted a seven-member committee comprising senior bureaucrats, fire service and police officials. The committee headed by Additional Secretary (District and Regional Administration) Mohammad Khalid Rahim has been asked to submit its report within seven working days.
