Fire at Secretariat: Kerala govt constitutes probe panel; findings likely within a week

On Wednesday, the Kerala government constituted a multi-departmental committee to inquire into the technical causes of the fire which broke out at the state secretariat. Claiming that the fire was no coincidence, the opposition alleged that files pertaining to the Kerala gold smuggling case were destroyed in the fire. To be headed by Disaster Management Commissioner Dr. A Kowsigan, the probe committee's other members are KSDMA Secretary Sekhar Kuriakose, Fire and Services Director (Technical) Noushad, PWD Chief Electrical Engineer Koshy John and Power Department Chief Electrical Engineer Anil Kumar.

The inquiry committee will focus on ascertaining the probable cause of the fire and the quantum of losses including the destruction of physical files. It shall also give a prima facie finding on the possibility of sabotage and the steps to be taken for preventing such instances in the future. The committee has been directed to submit its report to the Chief Secretary within a week.

Read: Fire At Kerala Secretariat: MoS MEA Alleges Attempt To Bury Gold Smuggling Case Evidence

Fire breaks out at Secretariat

At around 4.30 pm on Tuesday, a fire was reported on the second floor of North Sandwich Block in the Kerala Secretariat which houses the General Administrative (Political) and Tourism departments. This section handles many sensitive files including the ones related to the UAE Consulate, Swapna Suresh, and suspended bureaucrat M Sivasankar. The fire which was first detected in one of the computers soon engulfed a portion of the office. In a fortunate development, only two employees were present in the office due to COVID-19 related restrictions. Within a span of 15 minutes, the fire was doused with the help of the Fire and Rescue Department.

Read: Kerala CM Wants Action Plan To Clear Pending Files At Secretariat

What is the Kerala gold smuggling case? 

On July 5, Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sarith Kumar, who worked at the UAE Consulate was arrested in this regard. Reportedly, he told the Customs about the role of Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee now working as the manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited. Following the backlash over her appointment, she was sacked by the state government.

The NIA has already filed an FIR against Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh, Fazil Fareed, Sandeep Nair, and others. Various sections of the UAPA were slapped against the aforesaid individuals. The NIA has alleged that the smuggled gold was not used for jewellery purpose but for funding terror activities. Meanwhile, the ED registered a money laundering case in the Kerala gold smuggling scandal on July 23. The central agency is likely to probe if proceeds of crime were generated by the accused for the laundering of funds that were earned through the gold smuggling racket. 

Read: Congress In Kerala Stages One-day Fast Demanding CM Pinarayi Vijayan's Resignation