A fire at the Secretariat building has sparked widespread speculation across the country, with questions mounting over whether it was an accident or a deliberate act of sabotage. Even on a holiday Friday, the nation focused on the incident, a key location at the heart of the country’s administration.
A high-level committee formed by the interim government has begun investigating the cause of the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday night. Despite tight security measures surrounding the Secretariat, the committee commenced its probe, raising concerns over how such a significant fire could occur in a building under constant surveillance.
The atmosphere around the Secretariat remains tense, with the fire raising alarm and prompting widespread criticism. Questions are swirling over the security lapses that allowed the blaze to occur. The Secretariat, which is heavily monitored by law enforcement agencies and equipped with advanced CCTV systems, has become the subject of intense scrutiny.
The fire, which took six hours to bring under control, ultimately required 10 hours to extinguish fully. This has only fueled further questions about why it took so long to contain the blaze in such a vital government structure.
On Friday, members of the high-level government committee, led by the senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, inspected the site of the fire. They held an initial meeting at the Secretariat, with plans for further discussions on Saturday. Journalists were not allowed entry to the meeting.
Muhammad Jahed Kamal, the committee’s member secretary, and Director General of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, told reporters that it was premature to determine whether the fire was an act of sabotage or simply an accident. “We are here to inspect the scene and assess the situation,” Kamal said. “The cause of the fire can only be confirmed after a thorough investigation.”
On the second day of the investigation, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali, along with officers from the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit, also visited the site. The Criminal Investigation Department’s Crime Identification Team continued its inspection of the damaged building on Friday.
A CID official said that various pieces of evidence were seized from the damaged building on the first day. On the second day, searches were conducted around the damaged building number 7, in case any evidence was found in these places.
After extinguishing the fire, the fire service said that the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth floors of the building were damaged in the fire. Of these, the eighth and ninth floors were the most damaged, with most of the documents there being burnt. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association (BASA) strongly condemned and protested the fire at the secretariat.
BASA said that this is an unprecedented incident in the history of Bangladesh. The incident that took place in a deserted night after the Christmas holiday has been well-planned according to experts.
According to some, Sheikh Hasina's supporters, i.e. the fascist cronies, are still working in various ministries and departments of the Secretariat behind such sabotage activities, and since many of the fascist government's cronies still have access to the Secretariat, they are getting the opportunity to enter it illegally. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate whether the fascist group has any connection with the incident that occurred as a result of direct or indirect cooperation and entry of the fascist cronies, the administration cadre organization said.
The four floors of the secretariat that were burnt are the Ministry of Youth and Sports; Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology; Department of Posts and Telecommunications; Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; Department of Rural Development and Cooperatives; Ministry of Labor and Employment; Road Transport and Highways Division. Documents of these ministries and departments have been burnt to ashes. Computers and furniture have been reduced to ashes. There has been major damage to the walls and floors.
(Translated by Tanvir Raihan)
