M A I N   N E W S

Fire loss put at Rs 9 crore
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Feb 11 — The police has started investigation to ascertain the cause of fire which partially destroyed the Railway Board building here last evening.

A case has been registered under section 285 IPC, (Cause fire due to negligence) but all aspects are being probed keeping in view that it housed important offices like income tax, the CBI and government examiner of questioned documents which deal with sensitive cases.

As per the preliminary estimates, the total loss has been put at Rs 9 crore. The entire record of the income tax office and the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) and computers, furniture and other expensive items have been reduced to ashes. The income tax office alone has lost computers worth about Rs 2.5 crore. The office of the state Excise and Taxation Department suffered a minor damage.

Mr A.N. Sharma, SP, said reports were that some welding work had been doing on in the NSSO the office to fix grills. The police would inquire if negligence on the part of workmen engaged in the work was responsible for the fire.