Fire breaks out in RTO Office

Tirupati: Important and valuable files were reduced to ashes when a fire broke out at RTO office in Tirupati on Thursday night. Though the Regional Transport Officer said that the fire broke out due to an electric short circuit, there are doubts over the involvement of miscreants, who intentionally torched the RTO’s office, by pouring petrol through one of the windows. There is no clear evidence from the video footage of CC cameras.

Eight computers, computer network cables, broadband system and furniture were completely gutted in the fire accident and the wooden furniture damaged. The firemen succeeded in controlling the flames from spreading to the computer control room and RTO’s chamber, which has the information of police, who are on patrolling duty at that time.

Speaking to The Hans India, RTO Prasad suspected that the fire broke out due to the electric short circuit and said that all the data is intact at the main server in Hyderabad. A few old files were partially damaged, he added. He said that he had already requested the Alipiri police station to provide security to the office due to the ongoing Samaikyandhra agitation but the police did not provide the security, he said.

The lower rung staff was on strike since July 31 and the gazetted officers too joined this strike from August 16 onwards, the RTO said. No activities were taking place since a month and not a single employee was coming to the office, he said.

In fact, he paid a visit to the office in the morning and returned in the evening, but he received the information of fire accident at around 10 pm, he replied to a query.

Deputy commissioner of transport Basireddy inspected the office on Friday morning and enquired about the cause of fire. RTO Prasad explained him about the complaint lodged with the Alipiri police requesting to conduct a probe into the fire accident. The RTO said that perhaps the loss was estimated at around Rs 10 lakh. He replied that no watchman was deployed during the night since the inauguration of new office premises.