A massive fire broke out in a key building of the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka on Thursday, causing damage to official documents. This has led authorities to set up a high-level investigation committee, with suspicions that the fire might have been an act of sabotage.

A fire started in Building 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat early Thursday morning and took almost six hours to be brought under control. The building, which has nine floors, houses seven ministries within the high-security area. However, there were no reported casualties. According to Brigadier General Zahed Kamal, the head of the fire department, "the fire broke out in three spots (of the building) simultaneously hours after midnight yesterday," suggesting that the fire may not have started by accident.

Officials reported that a fire caused a power outage, disrupting normal operations not only within the building but also in other ministries. As a result, security agencies restricted access to the complex, preventing many staff members and officials from entering the area in the heart of the capital. They added that in addition to the furniture, a large number of documents from the local government and the post and telecommunications ministries were destroyed by fire and the majority of the rooms on the sixth, seventh, and eighth levels of building number seven suffered significant damage. "The conspirators have not stopped their activities," stated Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, a local government adviser and de facto minister who spearheaded the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement that overthrew the administration of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5. 

According to Bhuiyan, among the damaged documents were records and evidence of millions of dollars' worth of corruption under the Awami League government that was overthrown. “But no one will be given a single inch space to escape (punitive actions) if found involved to fail us,” said Bhuiyan. Authorities have set up a seven-member committee made up of senior civil officials, fire service, and police officers. The committee, led by Additional Secretary Mohammad Khaled Rahim (district and field administration), has been instructed to submit its report within seven working days. The probe panel has been assigned the task of determining the source and cause of the fire, identifying if anyone is personally or professionally responsible for it and providing recommendations to prevent similar accidents in the future, according to an office order from the Cabinet Division.