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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4 Indian students among several injured in stabbing attack in Russia
Moscow (PTI): At least six people, including four Indians students, were injured on Saturday in a stabbing attack at a university in Russia's Bashkortostan Republic, media reports and the Indian mission here said.
According to preliminary reports, a teenager armed with a knife entered a dormitory of the State Medical University in Ufa in the Bashkortostan Republic. He attacked the students living there and stabbed several of them, the Interior Ministry said.
“The attacker resisted arrest, during which two police officers were stabbed. Furthermore, the suspect also inflicted bodily harm on himself,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Maj General Irina Volk was quoted as saying by RTVI.com webportal.
Calling it an "unfortunate incident", the Indian Embassy here said, "Several persons including four Indian students have been injured."
The Embassy said it is in touch with the authorities, and officials from the Consulate in Kazan are en route to Ufa to provide assistance to the injured students.
In a release, the Russian Federal Health Ministry said that four people injured in the attack are receiving medical care. One is in serious condition, while three others are in moderate condition, it added.
The attacker, identified as a 15-year-old youth, has also been admitted to a local children's hospital in serious condition, the Baza telegram channel said.
Authorities in Ufa, the capital of the Bashkortostan Republic about 1,200 km east of Moscow, have launched a high-level probe into the incident.
The Baza channel claimed that the attacker belonged to a banned neo-Nazi outfit.
"He belonged to the banned NS/WP neoNazi organisation. During the frenzy of attack, he was shouting nationalist slogans about (the) Holocaust,” it said and shared the photo of a Swastika drawn on a wall with the blood of the victims.
According to eyewitnesses, “there was blood all around,” Ren TV said, showing footage of wounded being taken to hospital by ambulance vans.
