Several vehicles and case evidence collected by police have been burnt after a fire started at a dumping station behind Shahbagh Police Station in Dhaka.

The fire started at 2:45 pm on Tuesday and was completely extinguished nearly an hour later, said Rafi Al Faruk of the Fire Service Control Room.

“Initially, we believe the fire started from a discarded cigarette. The extent of the damage can be determined after investigation.”

The location was previously used as a Control Room for the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Once the Control Room was relocated, it became a dumping station.

Trucks, buses, autorickshaws, rickshaws, and cars impounded by police from various parts of Dhaka are kept at the location, according to Inspector Shah Alam of Shahbagh Police Station.

The vehicles are evidence in certain incidents, he said.

In addition to the vehicles, some other pieces of evidence were burnt in the fire, he added. However, the police official was unable to confirm what materials had burnt exactly.

“We are looking into what evidence was burnt in which cases,” Alam said.