Fire at CRPF record room leaves one official dead

The official, identified as head constable Lingam Gowda, was rescued by fire officials and then rushed to a hospital by a police van, where he was declared dead on arrival, said a police official.

As many as six fire tenders were rushed to the spot after receiving the call around 1.40 am, and it took more than three hours to douse the flames. A cooling operation was launched around 4 am, said a fire official. He further <g data-gr-id="22">said,</g> <g data-gr-id="21">preliminary</g> investigation revealed that the fire was caused by a short circuit in an air conditioner. Investigation of the case is underway.

According to a source, there was another official present at the spot and Gowda had informed him about the fire from the fourth floor, where the record room is situated. However, Gowda himself could not escape and collapsed due to suffocation. Several important documents preserved in the record room are believed to be destroyed by the fire, the official added.

In a separate incident, five fire tenders had to be rushed to the CBI headquarters in South Delhi’s Lodhi Road when a fire was reported around 11 am on Saturday. However, no casualties or injuries were reported in the incident.