Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s loyal agents, lurking within the
secretariat, set fire to the secretariat to destroy the files containing records of their misdeeds, including theft, embezzlement, and corruption, which the revolutionaries were investigating, Sarjis Alam, general secretary of the July Shaheed Smriti Foundation, has claimed.
“Over the past 16 years, a significant portion of bureaucrats were among the key stakeholders in the syndicate supporting the Awami League. Hasina relied on them to consolidate her grip on power in the country,” he wrote in a Facebook post today (26 December).
He added, “To reform the state, the entrenched elements of this syndicate within the bureaucracy and administration must be uprooted.”
Sarjis, a leader of the Anti-discrimination Students Movement, further said that there is no more time for warnings.
“Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, and Mahfuj Alam step into your revolutionary roles. The entire nation stands with you,” he said addressing the three student leaders who became advisers to the interim government after the Awami League government was toppled in a mass uprising in August.
Earlier, a fire broke out at 1:52am today at the secretariat’s building 7 which caused the most damage to the offices of three ministries – the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, the Ministry of LGRD and Cooperatives, and the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.
At least 19 firefighting units brought the flames under control at around 8:05am and completely doused them at around 11:45am.
Although authorities are yet to determine the extent of damage, Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General (DG) Brig Gen Muhammad Jahed Kamal told reporters that he believed that the flames destroyed most of the important documents of multiple ministries on the eighth and ninth floors.
According to officials, the Road Transport and Highways Division on the eighth floor, along with the Posts and Telecommunications Division and the Local Government Division on the seventh floor of building 7, suffered significant damage.
Several officials from these departments reported that these floors experienced the most intense fire, resulting in the destruction of office documents, furniture, and equipment. The fire also damaged the power and internet systems.
The sixth, eighth, and ninth floors also sustained damage. Officials from the ministries and the fire service are jointly assessing the extent of the losses. The ministries will soon provide detailed reports on the damage, according to the officials.
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