Official documents and personal records, including service books, of a large number of employees of the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department of Kashmir province were burnt to ashes in a mysterious fire that broke out early in the morning on Wednesday.
The fire broke out at the mechanical division of the I&FC office at Gogjibagh in Srinagar at 7 am when the office was locked. Taking serious note of the burning of official records, higher-ups of the department have directed the concerned executive engineer to submit a report as early as possible.
Factual report sought
"It is too early to say anything", Superintendent Engineer (SE) Mechanical wing I&FC department, Pankaj Bhalla, told The International Business Times, adding, "I along with Chief Engineer visited the spot after getting information and concerned executive engineer has asked to submit a factual report for further inquiry".
When asked whether some highly sensitive records pertaining to a pending inquiry is burnt in the fire, Bhalla said, "I can not comment at this point of time because it is too early to arrive at a conclusion".
Chief Engineer I&FC, Naresh Kumar told the International Business Times that the mechanical wing has been asked to conduct an inquiry within a stipulated time.
Vehicles, service books of employees burnt
Two government vehicles as well as some records including the service books of employees were burnt into ashes in the devastating fire. The burning of service books is a matter of concern for the authorities because the personal records of many employees are gutted.
Preliminary inquiry blames it on short-circuit
As per a preliminary inquiry, it is believed that short-circuit is the cause of this devastating fire, but the real picture would emerge only after the probe. "Let's wait for the inquiry to ascertain the cause of the fire," Bhalla said.
