Bangladesh fire fighters have doused the flames at a major government textbook warehouse after four days of hectic efforts, even as the officials reported finding mysterious powder at the scene raising suspicion that it was an act of “sabotage“.
The officials believed to have fully extinguished the blaze last night which burnt hundreds of tones of textbooks and printing materials at the National Curriculum and Textbook Board warehouse where they found white powder at the scene.
“I believe it was an act of sabotage, though we can not say right now who may be behind it,” Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told reporters reaffirming his earlier suspicion as an investigation was underway to find what caused the fire.
He, however, hastened to add “We would not like to say anything based on assumption (and) let the issue be proved through investigation“.
A fire service official told PTI that it could be an act of sabotage. He said the blaze originated on the ground floor Sunday and quickly spread through the three-storey building.
“The building wasn’t erected as per building codes.
That’s why we were finding it difficult to control the blaze,” fire service chief Brigadier Abu Nayyim Mohammad Shahidullah told reporters at the scene.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called the incident as the biggest challenge of her 10-month-old government after the February mutiny in paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles while she ordered fresh printing of textbooks so the schools could start the new academic year without disruption.
