BATHINDA, Feb. 21 -- Three weeks after a fire broke out at the Bathinda municipal corporation (MC) office, an investigation suggests that it was a case of sabotage. A first information report (FIR) was lodged at the Kotwali police station on the complaint of MC's controller Lakhveer Singh on Thursday night. A case under Section 326 (F) (mischief by causing fire) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against unidentified persons. According to the officials, privy to the matter, pleading anonymity, said scores of files related to the accounts, audit, and works wings of the urban local body were damaged. A fire had broken out in the store room, which was located on the third floor, on the evening of January 30. Initially, a short circuit was suspected behind the incident, but after an initial probe, it turned out that the record room had been torched by someone. Municipal commissioner Kanchan said on Friday that the scale of document loss is still being assessed. Fire incident led to speculation of foul play as the vigilance bureau is investigating a case of alleged irregularities in the purchase of fuel for the official vehicles. Also, large-scale construction activities on the public land were under the lens, and the authorities are checking details to see if the records are still intact. Officials said that the MC authorities grew suspicious that only the record room witnessed fire in the three-storey complex. "The record room also had files related to staff serving and retired in the last 10 years, and vouchers of their dues cleared. Data from CCTV cameras around the affected areas has already been submitted to the police for further analysis," the officials added requesting anonymity....