Hyderabad, February 10 Experts from national institutions such as the CFSL and the National Institute of Fire Safety Engineering, Nagpur, have joined the investigation to determine the cause of the fire accident at TGFSL here, a top official said on Tuesday.
Amidst opposition from BRS leaders, who raised suspicions that material related to high-profile cases, including the 2015 cash-for-vote case, was destroyed in the fire accident, DGP B Shivadhar Reddy termed it as "completely false."
"Some individuals made statements that material related to a key (cash-for-vote) case was lost in the fire incident. This is completely false, and there was no such loss," he said.
A fire that broke out on February 7 resulted in some damage to the computer forensic lab, its associated facilities, the training hall, and certain other facilities located on the first floor of the Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory (TGFSL) building. There were no casualties or injuries in the incident, officials had said.
TGFSL Director Shikha Goel on February 8 ruled out evidence related to high-profile cases, including cash-for-vote and phone-tapping, being destroyed in the fire that broke out in the laboratory.
Asked about the investigation into the fire accident, the DGP told reporters here that experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) and the National Institute of Fire Safety Engineering, Nagpur, had arrived in the city and started their investigation.
"A thorough investigation is being conducted into the fire accident by experts. We are awaiting the report. We do not expect significant damage, and even if some damage has occurred, we will try to retrieve the data from the servers. Efforts are being made by the experts, along with the local FSL team, to retrieve the data from the servers," Reddy said.
Referring to the 2015 cash-for-vote case registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), he said that the entire material related to the case had already been submitted to the court, and there was no material related to it at the time of the fire accident.
Similarly, the reports related to the phone-tapping case had been submitted to the concerned authority, the DGP said.
The cash-for-vote case pertains to allegations against Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy (then TDP MLA in 2015), of attempting to bribe a nominated MLA in connection with an MLC election.
The phone-tapping case relates to allegations of widespread unauthorized and illegal phone surveillance and interception involving politicians, businessmen, journalists, members of the judiciary, and other prominent individuals during the previous BRS government.