Fire breaks out at forensic lab, Union min demands statement by T'gana govt

Hyderabad, Feb 7 (PTI) A fire broke out in a room storing different seized items at the TGFSL here on Saturday, “damaging” computer systems, officials said.

The fire resulted in some damage to the computer forensic lab, the training hall and certain other facilities located on the first floor of the Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory (TGFSL) building, its Director Shikha Goel said in a release late on Saturday.

No loss of life or injury to any person has occurred in the incident, she said.

The damage caused by this incident is being assessed. However, most of case property and TGFSL material is intact, Goel said.

The fire occurred at around 10:08 am and the Fire Department was immediately informed, and the fire tenders reached TGFSL within minutes.

The fire was completely brought under control by the Fire Department around 1:30 PM, she said.

The fire was first noticed by an employee working in TGFSL who saw smoke coming from one of the rooms located on the first floor of the TGFSL building, the release said.

He immediately alerted the staff present in the TGFSL and also informed Inspector of Police working at TGFSL. He also used the fire extinguisher available in the room itself to douse the fire, it said.

The fire occurred in a room on the first floor of the ground plus two floors building, where different seized articles like hard discs, papers were stored, the officials said adding the maximum portion of that room was burnt.

Five fire tenders and one firefighting robot were pressed into service to douse the fire. The blaze was restricted to a part of the first floor, and some computer systems were damaged in the incident, they said.

Based on preliminary investigation, a fire department official said they suspected an electrical short-circuit caused the fire.

Prima facie it appears that the fire started in the electrical switch board of the room, the official said. However, the exact cause was under investigation, the official added.

A complaint has already been lodged with the police for taking up immediate investigation into the incident, Goel said.

Police investigation in the matter has already been initiated to ascertain the cause of fire, she said and urged that due restraint may be exercised and unverified and unsubstantiated claims may be avoided.

In the forensic lab, different items for testing and examination and different samples are stored, another official said. In the particular room, some computer systems are there which are used for research and analysis, he said.

Meanwhile, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy demanded that the state government make a statement on the fire incident.

“This is a matter of serious concern. We are coming to know that data related to investigation was there in computers and they got burnt. Government should make a clear statement,” he told reporters.

The government should make it clear whether back-up is there for the burnt computers or not, he said, hoping that alternative to technical and forensic evidence was available.

He claimed evidence and data related to high-profile cases, including cash-for-vote and telephone-tapping, were there in the FSL.

The cash-for-vote case pertains to allegations against CM A Revanth Reddy, a TDP MLA in 2015, of trying to bribe a nominated MLA in connection with an MLC election. PTI VVK SJR VVK SA