New Delhi, Oct 07: The Investigating Officer (IO) who probed Uphaar fire tragedy, which claimed 59 lives in 1997, has told a city court that the smoke which enveloped the movie complex rose from a transformer installed in the groundfloor. "There were two transformers installed on the ground floor...The smoke was all around. The source of smoke was transformer," inspector Azad Singh, who then was the additional SHO Hauz Khas police station, told additional sessions judge Mamta Sehgal.
Deposing as a prosecution witness, Singh said he had rushed to the scene as soon as he got information about the fire over his wireless set.
He termed as incorrect suggestions that it was a natural calamity and that nobody was responsible.

Stating that there were shutters affixed on the transformer room, Singh said he did not remember whether the shutter of the room in which Delhi Vidyut Board transformer was installed was open or closed.
The IO, however, said he did not notice any fire extinguisher outside the transformer room. "I got the room inspected for 5-10 minutes and that is why i have not seen the fire extinguisher," Singh said recalling the unfortunate incident of July 1997.
"It is not in my knowledge that the police had recovered 22 fire extinguishers from Uphaar cinema complex out of which some were from outside the transformer room also," he added. Bureau Report