Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday decided to increase security at the state Secretariat, a day after a minor fire had broken out at the protocol department.
The Cabinet decided that further action would be taken after it receives the investigation report in the fire incident.
The state government had appointed an expert panel to look into the incident and asked it to submit the report within a week, while the crime branch will also probe the matter.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan lauded the efforts of Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta for his timely intervention into the matter.
The Cabinet also assessed that there was a security breach as people entered into the secretariat premises after the fire incident.
Earlier yesterday, a minor fire had broken out on the second floor of the North Sandwich Block where certain sections of the General Administration and the tourism department were functioning.
However, the issue soon turned political, as the opposition Congress and BJP alleged that important files relating to the gold smuggling case were destroyed. The Kerala government on its part said it suspected a "conspiracy" by both parties.
Read: Kerala Secretariat Fire: Police baton-charge on protestors in Kozhikode; video viral
Soon after the fire broke out, BJP state president K Surendran reached the secretariat along with other workers and demanded that they be allowed inside. However, police removed them from the spot and later took Surendran into custody for forcefully entering the complex.
Mehta, who was at the secretariat, came out to control the commotion. He along with the police forcefully evicted the BJP workers and media from the complex.
Later, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly Ramesh Chennithala arrived at the spot and squatted in front of the Cantonment gate of the secretariat, demanding entry into the complex. He was later allowed inside.
Read: Kerala secretariat fire: Opposition alleges important files destroyed
Youth Congress activists and Yuva Morcha workers organised protest marches to the secretariat which turned violent with police using water cannons to disperse them. The activists burnt tyres and effigy of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in front of the secretariat.
State minister E P Jayarajan, later in a video message, alleged that the BJP and the Congress tried to create violence inside the secretariat complex.
(With inputs from PTI)
