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A fire broke out at the Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory in Nampally, Hyderabad, on the morning of Saturday, February 7. The fire started around 10 am on the first floor of the two-storey building. The floor housed physical evidence, including samples and documents related to various cases, according to reports.
Leaders of the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) questioned whether the fire was part of a conspiracy to erase evidence in key cases involving members of the ruling Congress party.
Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory Director Shikha Goel, however, issued a statement hours after the incident, saying that “most of the case property and FSL material is intact”.
“The fire has resulted in some damage to the computer forensic lab, the training hall, and certain other facilities located on the first floor of the FSL building,” the statement said. It added that some media speculation regarding the extent of the loss and the cause of the fire was “unverified and unsubstantiated”.
Shikha Goel said that the extent of the damage was still being assessed and that a police investigation into the cause of the fire was under way. No one was injured in the incident, and the fire was brought under control by around 1.30 pm, she said.
While the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, officials suspect a short circuit in the computer room on the first floor, where the fire is believed to have originated, according to The Hindu.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao asked whether the Revanth Reddy government was attempting to erase evidence against the Chief Minister in the 2015 cash-for-votes case. Revanth Reddy, who was then a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA, was accused of attempting to bribe a BRS MLA to vote in the TDP’s favour during the Legislative Council elections.
KTR also asked whether the Congress government was trying to “cover up for lack of evidence” in the alleged illegal phone-tapping case that took place during the previous BRS government. Former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, BRS leader Harish Rao and KTR himself have all been questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case over the past month.
BRS leader Dasoju Sravan Kumar demanded an inquiry led by a sitting judge into the incident, a white paper detailing the evidence that remained unharmed, and action against those responsible for the alleged security lapse.