Secretariat fire: Committee visits scene, pledges proper investigation
“No comments can be made on these matters right now,” says the committee chief when asked whether any signs of sabotage were found during the inspection
The eight-member committee formed by the government, in response to the fire that gutted several floors of building 7 at the Bangladesh Secretariat, visited the location and officially started its investigation today (27 December).
"We have inspected building 7. We have started our investigation," the committee's chief Nasimul Gani, senior secretary of the home ministry, told The Business Standard this afternoon.
"We are working according to the responsibilities the investigation committee have been tasked with," he added.
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When asked whether any signs of sabotage were found during the inspection, he said, "No comments can be made on these matters right now. The findings will be mentioned in the report after the investigation is completed."
Another member of the committee, requesting anonymity, said, "Our main task is why this fire incident took place. We are checking whether it was an actual act of sabotage. We have engineers [in our team] who will also check whether this incident occurred due to any technical fault."
The committee visited the scene after holding its first meeting earlier in the morning.
All committee members attended the meeting held at Nasimul's office at the Public Safety Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, his Personal Secretary Rahat Bin Qutub told The Business Standard.
The meeting aimed to determine the issues to be investigated, the strategies to adopt for delivering the probe report within the deadline, and whether there was a need to include more members in the committee.
The eight-member committee includes the Inspector General of Police, Baharul Alam; Housing and Public Works Secretary, Md Hamidur Rahman Khan; Dhaka Cantonment Commandant CMTD, Brig Gen Mahbubur Russell; Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) teachers, Prof Tanvir Manjur of the Urban Strategy Department; Associate Prof Md Yasir Arafat Khan of the Chemical Engineering Department; Associate Prof Yasir Arafat of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department; and Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General, Brig Gen Muhammad Jahed Kamal.
The committee is expected to submit a preliminary report by 30 December, with the full report due within the next 10 working days.
Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan yesterday (26 December) also confirmed that the high-profile probe committee is expected to submit its preliminary report within three days.
"We want a thorough and extensive investigation. The government is giving the highest importance to the matter," she said while briefing reporters at the Foreign Service Academy.
She said an emergency meeting was held with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in the chair where the decision was made.
The fire broke out at 1:52am yesterday at the secretariat's building 7, severely damaging floors six, seven, eight and nine and sparking widespread speculation about its origin.
It took 19 firefighting units around six hours to bring the flames under control and 10 hours to completely douse them.
The Road Transport and Highways Division on the eighth floor, along with the Posts and Telecommunications Division and the Local Government Division on the seventh floor of Building 7, suffered significant damage, according to officials.
They said this floor experienced the most intense fire, resulting in the destruction of office documents, furniture, and equipment. The fire also damaged the power and internet systems.
The sixth, eighth, and ninth floors also sustained damage. Officials from the ministries and the fire service are jointly assessing the extent of the losses. The ministries will soon provide detailed reports on the damage.
