A gate of the secretariat has been opened

Officials and employees entering the secretariatSazid Hossain

A gate has been opened for officials and employees to enter the secretariat, the administrative hub.

At around 9:15am today, the gate No. 5 of the secretariat was opened. As the gate opened, officials and employees who had been waiting outside began entering the secretariat.

A fire that broke out in Building 7 of the secretariat was brought under control after six hours, on Thursday morning. Nineteen units of the fire service worked to control the fire.

Home adviser lieutenant general (Retd.) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the fire broke out at 1:50am. The fire fighters reached the spot at around 1:54am. The fire was brought under control at 8:05am.

He said the fire broke out at the 6th floor of the building first and it spread to the 7th and 8th floors. One has died in connection with the fire incident while two to three others were injured.

Due to the fire, all gates of the secretariat were closed on Thursday morning. However, officials and employees began arriving. The law enforcement agencies did not allow anyone to enter at first, so they had to wait outside the secretariat.

However, at around 9:15am, the gate No. 5 of the secretariat was opened. Officials and employees began entering the secretariat at that time.

Officials and employees are raising questions about how the fire started in such a high-security area. Some are calling the fire incident an act of sabotage.

Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said whether the fire incident at the secretariat is a sabotage or not to be known after an investigation.

He also said the source of fire will also be revealed after the investigation.