Crime branch, Marine Drive police to investigate

Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik said that the Marine Drive police would conduct an enquiry into the Mantralaya fire, along with a parallel probe by the Mumbai police crime branch.

Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik said that the Marine Drive police would conduct an enquiry into the Mantralaya fire, along with a parallel probe by the Mumbai police crime branch. The inquiry has been ordered by the Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, after a fire gutted the top four floors of the state administrative headquarters on Thursday afternoon.

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Arup Patnaik said, “We will conduct an inquiry to ascertain the reasons for the fire.” Zhunzarrao Gharal, senior inspector of Marine Drive police station, said, “No case has been registered in connection with the incident yet. First, we will conduct an inquiry and if anything suspicious is found, a case will be registered. Prima facie, the fire seems to have started due to a short circuit.”

The Mumbai fire brigade and the city police were at the spot to douse the fire till late Thursday. A blanket of security had been thrown around the area and the commissioner said that police will continue to be deployed there for at least a couple more days.

Senior police officials said that over 200 policemen have been deployed in the area, following the incident. At least 70 policemen from zone 1, 2 and 3 each have been deployed there and they will continue to be present for few more days. The priority is to assess the loss first and then begin the inquiry into the incident, added the police.