Fire breaks out at forensic lab, Union min demands statement by T'gana govt
Hyderabad (PTI): A fire broke out in a room storing different seized items at the TGFSL here on Saturday, "damaging" computer systems, officials said.
The fire resulted in some damage to the computer forensic lab, the training hall and certain other facilities located on the first floor of the Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory (TGFSL) building, its Director Shikha Goel said in a release late on Saturday.
No loss of life or injury to any person has occurred in the incident, she said.
The damage caused by this incident is being assessed. However, most of case property and TGFSL material is intact, Goel said.
The fire occurred at around 10:08 am and the Fire Department was immediately informed, and the fire tenders reached TGFSL within minutes. The fire was completely brought under control by the Fire Department around 1:30 PM, she said.
The fire was first noticed by an employee working in TGFSL who saw smoke coming from one of the rooms located on the first floor of the TGFSL building, the release said.
He immediately alerted the staff present in the TGFSL and also informed Inspector of Police working at TGFSL. He also used the fire extinguisher available in the room itself to douse the fire, it said.
The fire occurred in a room on the first floor of the ground plus two floors building, where different seized articles like hard discs, papers were stored, the officials said adding the maximum portion of that room was burnt.
Five fire tenders and one firefighting robot were pressed into service to douse the fire. The blaze was restricted to a part of the first floor, and some computer systems were damaged in the incident, 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 switch board of the room, the official said. However, the exact cause was under investigation, the official added.
A complaint has already been lodged with the police for taking up immediate investigation into the incident, Goel said.
Police investigation in the matter has already been initiated to ascertain the cause of fire, she said and urged that due restraint may be exercised and unverified and unsubstantiated claims may be avoided.
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 coming to know that data related to investigation was there in computers and they got burnt. Government should make a clear statement," he told reporters.
The government should make it clear whether back-up is there for the burnt computers or not, he said, hoping that alternative to technical and forensic evidence was available.
He claimed evidence and data related to high-profile cases, including cash-for-vote and telephone-tapping, were there 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.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
