THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Again a fan caught fire in Secretariat. This time a fan in the housekeeping section has caught fire. However, as it was office hours, no file was lost in the blaze. The general administration department has justified the ‘fire incident’ as a common occurrence.

The fire incident which occurred in the protocol section in Secretariat has set off a huge controversy. The opposition has alleged the blaze as a purported attempt to destroy the files concerned with gold smuggling case and it occurred at a time when the probe agencies have asked for the files concerned with the case. Even though initially, the police said the fire incident occurred due to short circuit, the police report contradicted their claim and stated that the fire occurred when the molten plastic from the fan, fell upon the shelf, due to constant usage. The forensic report submitted before the court also stated that the short circuit is not the cause of the blaze.