MHA fire because someone forgot to switch off the AC?

Officials say that the fire at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the North Block was most likely caused by a short circuit due to someone leaving an AC on all night. Fire fighting officials were quoted by the media as saying the AC had overheated, causing a short circuit and resulting in the fire.

ANI news quoted policemen on site as saying that the smell of burnt rubber and plastic could indicate a short circuit in the building. Home Secretary RK Singh also said that 4-5 electric cables were near the window, so a short circuit is a possibility.

A CFSL (Central Forensic Science Laboratory) team is at North Block for further investigations.

Fortunately however the fire was a minor one and fire fighters were soon able to douse the blaze. Officials say that no documents have been damaged as a result of the fire, which only caused some damage to the floor in the Home Affairs Ministry.

Home Minister P Chidambaram also reached the area to see the damage for himself.

Five firefighting trucks were deployed to douse the fire which broke out earlier on Sunday afternoon.