The fire that ravaged the guard’s room and an adjoining ATM kiosk at the South Gate of Mysuru palace early on Friday broke out hours before Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia was scheduled to preside over a palace board meeting.
Though preliminary reports attributed the cause of the fire to an electrical short circuit, senior officials have directed the board authorities to lodge a police complaint to rule out sabotage.
Alongside a probe by the electrical inspectorate, a police enquiry will also be conducted to rule out sabotage, a senior official told The Hindu . A police probe is necessary to find out whether the fire was accidental or an act of arson. The palace board meeting went ahead as per schedule at 2 p.m.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep, who is also executive officer and member secretary of the palace board, said he has directed Mysuru district Fire Officer K.P. Gururaj to submit a fire audit report of the Mysuru palace to prevent fire mishaps. The report will be submitted after officials carry out a detailed technical study of the palace for its vulnerability to fire mishaps and the measures needed to prevent them. With regard to electrical wiring, Mr. Randeep said there were certain limitations to re-wiring as the palace was a heritage structure. However, he said the fuse system in place shuts down the power supply in the event of a trip in electric supply, thereby containing the damage.
Fire tender on
palace premises
The board meeting decided to establish a fire station on the palace premises. Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep said a fire fighting vehicle would be stationed on the palace premises. A shelter and other amenities would be provided for stationing the fire fighting vehicle.
