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Hyderabad Forensic Lab Fire: Officials Say Most Evidence Safe, No Key Case Files Lost

A police case is underway following opposition demands for an independent inquiry.

Overview

  • The Feb. 7 blaze was contained in about two to three hours after starting around 10:10 a.m. on the first floor, with no injuries reported.
  • Damage was confined largely to the computer forensics section, training hall and adjoining facilities, and most case property was retrieved and secured.
  • FSL Director Shikha Goel said materials from the 2015 cash-for-vote case had been returned to court in 2021, and phone‑tapping items were mostly examined with the remaining seven safely recovered.
  • An FIR has been registered and investigators are assessing the scene, with fire officials preliminarily pointing to an electrical short in a switchboard; a safety audit is being initiated.
  • BRS leaders alleged a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence and sought a judicial probe, while BJP leaders pressed the government to clarify data backups and evidence security.