How a bitumen extraction test going wrong might have led to the fire at BBMP office

The office was conducting a bitumen extraction test using a sample of asphalt. “We collected asphalt, which is made up of bitumen and jelly. Benzene is used as a stripping agent to extract bitumen from the mixture, which is further powered by adding fire. This is where things might have gone wrong with officials not being able to extinguish the fire after adding it to the mixture. This part of the process is under investigation,” Prahalad said.

He added: “Whether the authorities were trained and skilled enough to deal with such substances is a matter of investigation.”

Meanwhile, Bengaluru police have booked three people — two engineers, Ananda and Swamy, and Suresh Kumar, a BBMP official — for negligence. The trio have been booked under Section 337 (causing hurt by negligence) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code. The three BBMP officials have been served notices and called for questioning by the Halasuru gate police station.

The civic body, however, has ordered the Prahalad-led enquiry committee to submit a technical enquiry report  on or before August 31. The BBMP has also ordered the committee to suggest suitable technical and infrastructural measures to be implemented to avoid such incidents in the future.