‘There's mystery behind fire’

Recurrence of fire at the Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC) building for a second time is 'mysterious', says the management of Amar Desh, office of which was the source of Friday's fire.

BSEC Bhaban burns again

BNP's acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam has already said the fire was a 'sabotage planned by the government'.

Their key ally Jamaat-e-Islami also stated that the incident was 'mysterious'.

Chairman of private Ntv, which is also housed in the BSEC Bhaban, and BNP chief's adviser Mosaddak Ali Falu said it was necessary to know why fire was recurrent in this particular building.

The fire, second one in the same building after seven years, had broken out at the top floor of the 10-storied building around 10:45am.

Daily-turned-online newspaper Amar Desh’s offices are on that floor. Witnesses said the fire originated from its storehouse.

Amar Desh employees said the incident took place when they were shifting offices.

Ntv occupies the building's seventh to ninth floors while the private channel Rtv is on the fifth floor. Amar Desh is housed on the 10th floor.

Ntv also has two tin-shed transmission rooms on the roof.

On Feb 26, 2007, three people were killed and 10 offices, including those of the Ntv, Rtv and Amar Desh, destroyed in a fire. But the investigations report on that has not been made public until now.

Former BNP MP Mosaddak Ali Falu once owned all three media outlets, but he handed over the ownerships of Rtv and Amar Desh after he was arrested when a state of emergency was imposed during the last caretaker government's term.

Then, Bengal Group obtained the maximum ownership of Rtv and Mahbubur Rahman, former energy adviser to former prime minister Khaleda Zia, took over Amar Desh Publications Limited as the chairman and acting editor of the newspaper.

Rahman is now behind bars for whipping up religious passions and incitement to cause public disorder through publishing reports in the newspaper.

The pro-BNP newspaper went online when it was shut down in June last year for running 'provoking and false' reports on and against the trials of the war criminals of 1971.

Amar Desh's senior journalist Mahmuda Doli told bdnews24.com that they were supposed to shift their office to a building at the capital's Niketon on Friday morning.

"The fire broke out after the shifting began. Our newsroom was empty because of the shifting."

"The incident (fire) seems mysterious," she said.

Amar Desh Executive Editor Syed Abdal Ahmed told bdnews24.com: "This was not any simple fire. There is a mystery behind it. The fire has destroyed all the old documents, our archives and computers."

Amar Desh's Office Assistant Abbas Ali Hawlader said they were busy shifting their offices.

"A spark was noticed at the store room but it was locked," he said.

He said the man who had the keys was immediately called and they initially tried to put out the fire by themselves. Fire service was called afterwards, leading to the evacuation from the building.

"All of us on the top floor moved out. I don't think anyone was trapped," he said.

After the fire was brought under control around 2pm, Fire Service Director (Operations) Mohammad Mahbub told reporters, "There was a large pile of flammable papers on the top floor. That's why it took us so long to extinguish the blaze."

Ntv Chairman and Managing Director Mosaddak Ali Falu at the scene said he suffered losses each time the building caught fire.

"They (fire incidents) are investigated but no report is ever filed," he alleged. "It's necessary to know why fire is recurrent in this building."

He, however, said he did not know that Amar Desh was shifting its office.

Meanwhile, BNP spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in a statement held the government responsible for the fire.

He said, "The government always tries to destroy any organisation, which is perceived to be against them. That's why Amar Desh, Ntv and Rtv have become the victims of the government's sabotage."

The BNP leader demanded proper investigation and exemplary punishment for 'those involved in the sabotage.

Jamaat-e-Islami in a statement also dubbed the fire 'mysterious' and demanded compensations for those who suffered losses.