: A special police team is still piecing together evidence to establish the exact cause of the massive fire that broke out at Sweet Meat (S.M.) Street in the city more than a month ago.
The probe is progressing even as a district-level magisterial inquiry almost concluded that the fire was triggered by a faulty inverter at one of the shops. The inquiry also ruled out the possibility of sabotage and a short circuit. Five shops were gutted and many were partially destroyed in the fire that broke out around 10.30 p.m. on May 13.
However, investigators have their own explanation why they are unable to make any headway into the probe. “We need the reports of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Electrical Inspectorate, and the Kerala State Electricity Board to come to a conclusion. All these are pending. The forensic experts from Kannur have not completed their task. Even on Tuesday they carried out a re-inspection at the site. We need full-fledged reports,” A.J. Babu, Assistant Commissioner of Police (South), Kozhikode City, told The Hindu here.
Perhaps the Electrical Inspectorate might have given a preliminary report for the magisterial inquiry to be submitted to the State government. “But the police need conclusive evidence. We cannot produce a shoddy report at the court,” he said.
