Maha govt orders CID probe

The Maharashtra government has ordered an inquiry by the state police’s Criminal Investigation Department into the major fire in Mantralaya, the state secretariat building in south Mumbai.

The government has also ordered a thorough structural and fire audit as the forth, fifth and sixth floors which house the offices of the chief minister, the deputy chief minister, the chief secretary and couple of ministers and secretaries, were gutted in on Thursday's fire.

Further, the government has prohibited entry of its 5,000-odd employees and the visitors into the building till the structural and fire audits are complete. The Mantralaya is spread over 700,000 sq ft.

CM Prithviraj Chavan, accompanied by his deputy, Ajit Pawar, and senior ministers and secretaries, ruled out any sabotage, and said the fire broke out due to a short circuit at the fourth floor.

“Seventeen persons were injured. Over 4,000 people, who were in the building at the time the fire broke out, were rescued,” Chavan said.

The Press Trust of India reported at least two people were killed in the accident.