The Crime Desk: The Ministry of Home Affairs is cancelling all temporary passes to enter the Secretariat. This information was confirmed in a press release signed by the special assistant to the chief advisor, Md. Khoda Baksh Chowdhury, from the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday (December 27).
The press release mentioned that in the interest of increasing the overall security of the Bangladesh Secretariat, all types of temporary (for private individuals) Secretariat entry passes have been cancelled, except for the permanent entry pass (Digital Access Control System) issued in favor of officials and employees working in the Secretariat and the temporary entry pass issued for government officials and employees.
It further mentioned that the right to enter the Secretariat with accreditation cards issued in favor of journalists is hereby cancelled until further orders.
Holders of different categories of cancelled Secretariat entry passes can apply for a new temporary entry pass within the next 15 days through a special cell set up at Bangladesh Police, Crime Command and Control Center, DMP, 15 Abdul Gani Road, Dhaka.
The order was issued in view of the security situation at the Secretariat being disrupted due to the fire incident at the Secretariat, the notification also mentioned.
It is to be noted that the Secretariat, the heart of the administration, was closed on Wednesday (December 25) during the Christmas holiday. Building No. 7 of this very important establishment burned down for 10 hours in the dead of night. People across the country were wondering how the fire started throughout the day. The lack of answers has created a mystery. Various questions have arisen. Government advisors and leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement have termed the fire as a planned sabotage. However, the question has arisen: what is the secret behind the fire taking so long to extinguish in a very important area? The government has formed a 7-member high-powered committee to unravel the mystery. In addition, several ministry-based committees have been formed to assess the damage.
According to the Fire Service, a fire broke out in Building No. 7 at 1:52 am on Wednesday. Fire service members reached the scene at 1:54 am after receiving the information. Initially, eight units worked to control the fire. In the end, 19 units of the fire service worked to control the fire. Although the fire was brought under control at 8:05 am the next day, it was completely extinguished at 12:15 pm.
A firefighter named Md. Swanur Zaman Nayan was killed when a truck ran over him while trying to put out the fire. Some have raised the question of whether there is any mystery behind the truck.
Although each floor of the 10-story building was damaged to some extent in the fire, almost all of the floors from the 6th to the 9th were burned. These floors house the Ministry of Youth and Sports; Ministry of Labor and Employment; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications; Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives; Ministry of Finance; and Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, among other departments.
Among them, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, headed by Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, who became an advisor to the interim government from a student leader, the Ministry of Rural Development and Cooperatives, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, headed by Nahid Islam, are also located in that building.
