A huge fire broke out at a government building in Madhya Pradesh, India, on Monday afternoon, burning several key files and documents. The fire engulfed Satpura Bhawan, which houses offices of various departments, including CBI, EOW, tribal welfare and health directorate.
The fire was so intense that the Army and IAF had to be called in to assist the fire brigade in dousing the flames. The cause of the fire is still unknown, but some eyewitnesses said they heard a blast before the fire started.
No casualties have been reported so far, but the damage to the building and its records is estimated to be huge. The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, visited the site and ordered a probe into the incident. He also announced compensation for those who lost their belongings in the fire.
The opposition Congress party alleged that the fire was a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence of corruption and scams in the state government. The party demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter and accused Chouhan of trying to cover up his misdeeds.
This is not the first time that a fire has broken out at a government building in India. In 2019, a fire at Delhi’s Shastri Bhawan, which houses several ministries, destroyed some files and computers. In 2018, a fire at Mumbai’s Mantralaya, which is the state secretariat, killed five people and damaged many documents.
According to a report by The Times of India, which is one of the sources for this article, India has witnessed over 62,000 fire incidents in government buildings between 2010 and 2019, resulting in over 1,300 deaths and over 4,000 injuries.
