A fire broke out at the Kerala secretariat on Tuesday, damaging some documents and triggering a political controversy.
The incident happened at the protocol office at the North Sandwich Block, triggering a slew of speculations and allegations.
Nobody was injured in the incident but some documents were burned.
An official said no major files were damaged in the accident. "Only some files relating to booking rooms in guest houses were destroyed. The fire was caused by short circuit from a computer," P Honey, under secretary, general administration department, told Manorama News.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed to the spot and put-off the fire.
The office was functioning with minimum staff as an employee working there had tested positive for COVID-19 recently.
Leader of the opposition in state assembly, Ramesh Chennithala, alleged a conspiracy behind the re incident saying it was a deliberate.
The protocol office, which deals with affairs such as foreign trips of ministers and government officials, was apparently under the radar of the central agencies probing the case.
BJP state president K. Surendran also made similar allegations. He demanded a thorough probe into the incident. Surendran also said the removal of the staff from the office in the name of COVID was also susceptible. "It was not reported in any media," he said.
(This story originally appeared in Onmanorama)
