Bhadrakali fire: Hard disk could reveal details

partially damaged hard disk, in which the videofeed is expected to be stored. The hard has reached the cyber lab on Friday.

Experts at the lab found that the connecting port of the hard disk had got damaged. Though the port is expected to be replaced by Monday, police are not sure if data can be extracted as the hard disk was exposed to intense heat.

Warangal police commissioner Dr V. Ravinder said there were three reasons why the fire could have broken out — smoking inside the unit, electric short-circuit and chemical reaction. “Once the videos come out, the cause of the fire can be identified, which will help the investigation,” Mr Ravinder said.

Sub-inspector G. Janardhan, the cyber lab in-charge, said the lab had an equipment called hard disk recovery chamber which retrieves the data from damaged hard disks and can also recover deleted data.

Responding to a query, Mr Janardhan said the the kit which has the hard disk and SIM recovery recovery tools had a success rate of 90 per cent. “In several instances, it has retrieved data from fully damaged hard disks.”

The Warangal police performed DNA analysis on two bodies to hand them over to their relatives.

“Once the report is out, the bodies will be handed over to their kin,” Mr Ravinder said. Factory owner Gollapalli Raj Kumar, 38, who was arrested after the fire, is still in prison.