How easy it is to subvert investigation

The warehouses of Medical Services Corporation in Kollam and Menamkulam in Thiruvananthapuram were gutted by fire within a week. In both places, the fire broke out under completely mysterious circumstances. It is reported that medicines and equipment worth around ten and a half crore rupees were destroyed in the fire in Kollam. On the other hand, everyone was saddened by the death of firefighter Ranjith, who sacrificed his life while attempting to put out the fire in Menamkulam. Ranjith was trying to break the shutter and enter the godown when a concrete part of the building fell on top of him. The untimely death of this brave young man is a great loss not only to the family but also to the fire department.

Medical Services Corporation has been in the midst of controversy for quite some time now. The stories of the corruption and irregularities going on there are being widely discussed. The Lokayukta is investigating the irregularities behind the various purchase transactions made by the corporation during the Covid period. Many are alleging that the recent fires in warehouses are part of an attempt to sabotage the investigation. Some individuals, even outside the corporation, do not want the probe to reveal the truth. The disappearance of many important information from computers is a common occurrence even in the headquarters of the Corporation. Those who are behind the corruption will get caught only if there are documents related to corrupt transactions. The Corporation had purchased large quantities of medicines and medical supplies during the Covid period. Police had found a huge stock of expired medicines from the burnt warehouses. The Medical Services Corporation had purchased medicines, equipment and related materials worth over one thousand one hundred crores to deal with Covid. It was alleged that most of them were bought at exorbitant prices. Those behind the irregularities may have caused the fire intending to eliminate evidence of irregularities and corruption.

Some are claiming that the massive storage of bleaching powder in the godown in Menamkulam led to the fire. This is not a believable thing as it was not the first time that bleaching powder was stored in the warehouse. Another thing raising suspicion is the fact that a large number of medicines were stored carelessly in the warehouse. There was also the presence of flammable materials in the godown. The fact that the godown did not even have a device to put out a small fire is proof enough that things were handled lightly. The chief of the fire force said that the godown was functioning without the NOC of the fire force. Who will answer the question of whether such serious failures should be discovered only after the fire?