Forensic and crime teams visited the National Museum of Natural History on Wednesday to collect samples — a day after it was gutted in a fire. A police officer said that a crime team as well as one from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) visited the site and collected samples which were then sent for examination.
The reports will take around a month and will be crucial in determining the exact cause.
Meanwhile, cooling operations continued till Wednesday. The police said that almost the entire museum, all three affected floors, were completely gutted. A few taxidermies may, however, be unaffected, said sources.
So far, the assessment of damage has not been made as the police were not allowing anyone, including Museum officials, to enter the premise for safety reasons.
However, DFS officials said that some taxidermies and fauna samples kept on the lowermost floor of the museum may have been saved but the number was too small and dwarfed by the overall destruction figure.
The police may question the officials on fire safety arrangements soon. So far the only person questioned by them is the guard who spotted the smoke and raised an alarm. The case registered is under Section 436 of IPC (mischief caused by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) against unnamed persons in connection with the fire at the museum.
However, the police stayed clear of giving any firm reply on whether any conspiracy was involved, saying that it was too early in the probe to reach a conclusion.
The fire department, which had earlier planned to send a notice to the museum management for not obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from them, may drag its feet back now.
A similar notice was sent to the owners of the Pitampura building which caught fire this Sunday. An official said that the museum premise was maintained by the government, there are several complexities involved in issuing such a notice.
