Bangladesh fire death toll rises to 25: officials
Dhaka: With the death of 19 more peop le, the toll from the deadly fire at a high-rise office building in Bangladesh's capital rose to 25, fire officials said.
A massive fire engulfed a 22-storey building in Dhaka's posh Banani area on Thursday, in the second major blaze to hit the capital since last month.
The incident, in the building that houses several garment shops and internet service providers, left several people trapped inside as the blaze spread to two adjacent buildings.
Nineteen bodies were recovered from inside the building. A total of 25 deaths have been confirmed and the number of people injured are 76 in the deadly fire that broke out at in Dhaka's Banani area, a fire service official was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.
The injured are now being treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital's burn unit.
The Fire Service Duty Officer Mizanur Rahman claimed the fire was brought under control at around 4:45pm on Thursday.
Hundreds of people have been rescued from the building, the report said.
Fire Service Deputy Director Dilip Kumar Ghosh said that several people had panicked and leapt from the building, which led to the increased casualties.
At least six of the killed, including a Sri Lankan national, died after they jumped off from various floors of the high-rise building for safety.
The building had narrow staircases, and lacked firefighting capacity. It is also of note that the building reportedly caught fire over a decade ago in 2008, Ghosh said.
Fire officials said the blaze erupted on the eighth floor of the building and gradually went upward engulfing ninth, 10th and 11th floors, but could not immediately say what sparked the inferno.
Five military and air force helicopters were deployed to drop water on the blaze as flames and thick black smoke poured out of the windows.
On February 20, at least 70 people were killed and over 50 injured when a fast-moving fire swept through an apartment buildings and chemical warehouses in Dhaka's congested Chawkbazar area.
In 2012, a fire at a nine-storey garment factory near Dhaka killed 111 workers.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
