Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh): Shortly after the fire at Shivpuri Collectorate was doused off on Saturday morning, police began scanning CCTV cameras to find the cause of the blaze.
The CCTV footage revealed two masked men approaching towards the back side of the collectorate's building, carrying a tin full of petrol, during the wee hours of Saturday. The accused men then poured petrol inside the Nazir (record) room from the windows and threw the lit matchstick. As soon as the fire ignited, the two accused fled away.
Collector Ravindra Kumar Choudhary confirmed that two youths have been captured on CCTV who ignited the blaze. SP Aman Singh Rathore has also seen the video. The police have started an investigation.
'Some damaged records can be retrieved from online server'
The collector also said that the fire broke out in Nazir's storeroom and some parts of Nazul. "Our records of land acquisition are safe. Some of our records that have been gutted can be retrieved from an online server. We will form a team under the chairmanship of ADM that will investigate the entire matter. Proper details regarding what files and papers have been lost can be ascertained only after a complete investigation."
According to the information, watchmen are posted in the Collectorate even at night, yet the information about the fire could not be received in time. In the wee hours of Saturday, around 5 a.m., smoke was seen billowing out of the Collectorate building. Senior officials were informed. It took nearly three hours for the flames to be completely doused off.
It is said that files from several government departments and documents, including records of nazool (land), grievance redressal, and land acquisition, have been damaged in the fire.
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