A major fire broke out at the Directorate of Education headquarters here on Sunday morning, reducing several important files related to the teachers’ recruitment scam and other matters to ashes.

The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a high-level probe, while an FIR has been registered and police are also investigating the incident.

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Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav questioned the circumstances of the fire, stating, “Was the fire an accident caused by technical reasons, or is there another reason? There should be a high-level investigation.”

According to sources, around 5,000 files of aided schools kept in two rooms were completely destroyed. Firefighters reportedly received electric shocks during efforts to douse the flames due to a live inverter at the site. It took more than four hours to extinguish the fire.

The blaze reportedly started around 8 a.m. on the ground floor, in rooms number 14 and 15. Sources revealed that the rooms housed critical files related to the registration of nine divisions of the state, teacher recruitment, fake recruitment investigations, transfers, and financial transactions.

Officials said the exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

Additional Education Director Surendra Tiwari stated that a high-level committee has been formed to investigate all aspects of the incident and that police have been informed to carry out a parallel investigation.