MDP seeks criminal probe into ‘gross negligence’ in office block blaze

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has accused the government of gross negligence in dealing with a massive fire burned down a block of government buildings in Male’ City last week, warning that the party intends to lodge cases with both the police and the National Integrity Commission (NIC) over the issue.

The fire broke out at a block of government buildings located in the Ameenee Magu of Male’ City at around 06:00 am on Thursday. The two buildings housed the Housing Ministry, Infrastructure Ministry, Environment Ministry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and two sections of the Male’ City Council – including the Vital Registration Department.

In a press briefing on Monday morning, Mahfooz Saeed, the MDP’s legal director, said the party believes it important to have an independent investigation into the fire.

He said the party plans on filing a formal complaint with the police before the end of the day.

“We are requesting the police to investigate this as a criminal matter. We will ask to find the cause of the fire and to also to have the military assist in the investigation,” he said.

Mahfooz said the party also plans to lodge a separate case with the NIC over alleges negligence in controlling the fire.

The massive fire had led to fears over the loss of important documents.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Infrastructure Minister Dr. Abdulla Muthalib said the fire ddid not result in the loss of any housing-related data, and that all such information is safely stored in the cloud. Meanwhile, the Male’ City Council said it had managed to save 90 percent of documents from its Land Department. However, Housing Minister Dr. Ali Haidar Ahmed said the fire consumed some documents on land use plans for islands.

Mahfooz said that all those documents should have been archived as per the Archives Act. He said that Haidar had said the Housing Ministry lost all documents regarding its new projects.

“…As per this provision, these documents needed to have been archived. We therefore ask the director of National Archives to investigate whether documents that should have been archived were not, or whether it was copies of archived documents that were lost,” he said.

Ahmed Saleem, a former parliamentary representative for Hoarafushi, said the MDP finds many aspects of the government’s handling of the fire incident “suspicious.”

He said that it took too long to control the fire.

“Why did it take so long to control this fire? As you know, coincidentally, the location where the fire broke out is mere 100 meters away from the MNDF Fire and Rescue’s main center,” he said.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau said that the police are collecting forensic evidence from the scene, and are also questioning eye witnesses and analyzing footage from the CCTV cameras in the area.

He also said that a team of foreign experts will join the investigation soon.

Meanwhile, workers from the Public Works Department of the Local Government Ministry are demolishing and clearing rubble from the site.

Referring to news that a team of foreign experts will be joining the investigation, Saleem asked what a team was supposed to investigate at a cleared site.

The fire had broken out just ahead of work hours, and did not result in any injuries.

However, it burned two government buildings beyond use, and also affected nearby buildings, with at least 27 people evacuated from neighboring homes.

The cause of the fire remains unclear.