Hyderabad, February 7 A fire broke out in a room storing various seized items at the Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) here on Saturday, "damaging" computer systems, officials said.
The extent of the damage was under investigation. No one was injured in the incident, they said.
Union minister and senior BJP leader G Kishan Reddy demanded that the government clarify on the matter.
The fire occurred in a room on the first floor of the ground-plus-two floors building, where various seized articles, such as hard discs and papers, were stored. The maximum part of that room was burnt, officials said.
After receiving information, fire and police personnel rushed to the spot, and the flames were extinguished, and the smoke emanating from the first floor was also brought under control. "The fire started around 10:15 am. We received information at 10:22 am. Smoke emanated from the first floor of the building, and the fire was extinguished in two hours," a fire department official told PTI.
Five fire tenders and one firefighting robot were deployed to extinguish the fire. The blaze was contained to part of the first floor, and some computer systems were damaged in the incident, they said.
"Physical evidence (seized items) as part of the investigation (into cases) and computer systems were damaged. The extent of the damage to the systems and physical evidence, and which cases they pertain to, is still not known," they said.
Based on preliminary investigation, a fire department official said they suspected an electrical short-circuit caused the fire.
Prima facie, it appears that the fire started in the electrical switchboard of the room, the official said. However, the exact cause is still under investigation.
In the forensic lab, different items for testing and examination and different samples are stored, another official said. In the particular room, some computer systems are there which are used for research and analysis, he said.
Meanwhile, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy demanded that the state government make a statement on the fire incident.
"This is a matter of serious concern. We are learning that data related to the investigation was on computers and they got burnt. The government should make a clear statement," he told reporters.
The government should make it clear whether there is a backup for the burnt computers or not, he said, hoping that alternative to technical and forensic evidence is available.
He claimed that evidence and data related to high-profile cases, including cash-for-vote and telephone-tapping, were present in the FSL.
The cash-for-vote case pertains to allegations against CM A Revanth Reddy, a TDP MLA in 2015, of trying to bribe a nominated MLA in connection with an MLC election.