Kozhikode fire: Police register case; Jayalakshmi Silks claims ₹50cr loss

Kozhikode: The Town Police on Wednesday registered a case in connection with the fire that broke out at the Jayalakshmi Silks textile showroom in the city on Tuesday evening.

The case was registered based on a complaint lodged by the showroom manager, stating that the estimated loss from the blaze amounts to around ₹50 crore. Police teams that inspected the partially gutted building said they could not ascertain the exact cause of the fire or determine where it originated.

Forensic experts are scheduled to visit the site on Thursday to collect evidence. Earlier, teams from the Fire and Rescue Services and the Electrical Inspectorate had also inspected the premises but were unable to arrive at a conclusive finding on the cause of the fire.

Earlier, the managing director of the textile group, Govind Kamath, had said that adequate fire safety measures were in place at the showroom and that staff had no clear idea about the origin of the blaze.

“Staff first noticed smoke on the first floor and assumed that was the point of origin. They attempted to douse the flames using fire extinguishers. However, the fire had actually started earlier in the corresponding area of the second floor, which delayed its detection. Realising this, the staff immediately shifted their focus to evacuation,” Kamath said.