DDK Srinagar record room gutted in mysterious blaze

17 RTI application, seeking record of programmes and payments, had piled up in 2 months

Early Times Report

SRINAGAR, Aug 29: One official got critically injured when record room of Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) Srinagar gutted in a mysterious fire last evening. Since seventeen private producers had filed applications in the last about one month and sought records of the ‘fraudulently paid’ in-house programmes under RTI, officials are wildly suspected to have destroyed the files that could have landed them in trouble.

Even as DDK Srinagar maintained silence and it did not issue any clarification, informed sources revealed to Early Times that a devastating blaze occurred in mysterious circumstances in the record room at around 1700 hours on Sunday. Sources said that voluminous records, that had been shifted from main complex to the makeshift record room in a barrack, beside the boundary wall between DDK and Radio Kashmir complex, perished in the fire.

Presence of a stenographer of Regional News Unit, Ashiq Hussain, in the record room on Sunday, which was a gazetted holiday, raised speculations of sabotage. The official, who happens to be the relative of DD’s Administrative Officer, Abdul Samad Baig, sustained critical burn injuries on entire anterior of his body. He was evacuated by staff and sentries on duty and rushed to hospital. He is now under treatment at SMHS Hospital.

DD officers spread word that Ashiq had got injured when an HT power line fell upon him. However, when dozens of employees went for an inspection to the spot, they found that there was no power line over the premises. It became clear in the afternoon today that Ashiq had unusually entered Radio Kashmir, parked his scooter there and crossed to DDK premises through an overhead bridge. Security officials at DD entrance maintained that he had not entered the premises through the usual main gate on any point of time on Sunday.

Things became more suspicious when it became known that DD officials had not made any mention of Ashiq getting injured in their report submitted to Police. When some officials objected and insisted that the injured official’s name should be mentioned and his statement must be recorded after his recovery, a secondary report was submitted to Police for filing FIR.

Insiders said that piling up of RTI applications, seeking record of in-house programmes and payments made thereto, could be one reason behind the blaze as these revelations could certainly land many high ups and inside producers in trouble.

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