THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Tuesday lashed out at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state government by alleging that the Chief Minister's office conspired to destroy crucial evidence regarding the gold smuggling case. The union minister was reacting to the news regarding the fire that broke out at the Kerala Secretariat on Tuesday.

Taking it to his official Facebook page, the minister said that several documents that could expose the state government's involvement in the gold smuggling were destroyed in the fire. 'Documents or material that could expose @VijayanPinarayi & his cronies seems to have been gutted in the fire. This incident smells foul & exposes the rot in @CMOKerala. A thorough investigation is needed to ascertain claims of this so-called "Short Circuit,"' his post read.