BENGALURU: Files and documents were gutted after a fire broke out in the office of a BBMP assistant executive engineer (AEE) in Bellandur in the early morning hours of Friday. Police suspect that someone may have intentionally set fire to the office after the recent raids by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials.

A police officer said that a passer-by noticed the flames at 7.30am, and called the fire and emergency service. Two fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused the fire in two hours. The current AEE Prakash told the Bellandur police that no staff members were inside the office premises when the incident occurred. “Electrical short circuit is said have caused the fire. However, we are yet to ascertain the exact cause of and confirm whether it was an accident or not,” the police officer said. 

A senior police officer from the Bellandur police station said, “The earlier AEE, Krisnalal, was caught by ACB officials for his alleged involvement in making fake Ticket Deposit Receipts (TDR) of a BBMP land, located in Garudacharapalya in Mahadevapura. A special team was about to seize the documents from his chambers, and the fire broke only at that particular place. The neighbouring chamber not affected in the mishap. So, we strongly suspect foul play behind the incident and are currently investigating.”