The government formed a high-powered probe committee today to investigate the fire that broke out at the Secretariat last night.

Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, while speaking at a press conference at Foreign Service Academy, said that the probe committee will submit its preliminary report within three days.

She said that the probe committee will be headed by the home secretary, and that an emergency meeting presided over by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus took the decision of forming the committee.

She said the government is taking the matter seriously as it was a question of security.

She also added that the government will make public the final report of the probe committee.

Other members of the committee include the Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Director General of the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence, an explosive expert from the Armed Forces Division, and three BUET professors.

Earlier today, a seven-member committee was formed to investigate the fire as well.

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Fire disrupts regular activities at Secretariat

That committee, headed by Mohammad Khaled Rahim, additional secretary (district administration) of the Cabinet Division, has been tasked with uncovering the cause of the blaze and assessing the damage, according to an office order of the Cabinet Division.

The committee will submit its report within seven working days, detailing findings and recommendations to prevent such incidents in the future.