Congress seeks probe into 'sabotage' behind warehouse fire incident

Thiruvananthapuram: A day after a fire gutted a drug warehouse of the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd here, the opposition Congress on Wednesday alleged sabotage behind the incident and sought a probe into it.

The opposition party also suspected whether the fire incident had any connection with the alleged corruption in the procurement of gloves by the KMSCL during the COVID-19 period. Reiterating their demand for probe, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan said the public suspects that the fire was part of a conspiracy to destroy evidences.

"The government should be ready to seriously investigate the sabotage and the conspiracy behind the fire at the KMSCL godown in Thiruvananthapuram," he said in a statement here.

It should also be ascertained whether the fire, which broke out in the small hours of Tuesday, was related to the corruption in the purchase of gloves during the COVID-19 era, he said.

Gloves worth crores had been imported to the state from abroad without any tender or quotation at a time when there was no shortage of gloves in Kerala, he alleged.

It was imported with an advance payment of Rs 6.07 crore.

The fire incident occurred at a time when the investigating agencies were about to check the quality of these gloves which were still kept unused at the KMSCL godown here, the LoP said.

"In the current circumstances, it is suspected that the gloves have also been destroyed in the fire," he said.

A massive fire broke out at a drug warehouse located on the Kinfra Industrial Park campus near here, in the small hours of Tuesday.

A 32-year-old fireman, Ranjith, lost his life while attempting to douse the flames at the fire-hit building.

In the wake of the incident, the state government ordered a comprehensive probe and said safety audits would be conducted in all drug warehouses, under the KMSCL, across the state.