Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday directed police authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into a series of fire incidents reported at ongoing construction sites in the Amaravati capital region with an eye on a possible conspiracy behind the incidents.
A massive fire broke out at a storage yard of an infrastructure major building the Head of Department (HOD) towers in Rayapudi village in Amaravati after 11 pm on Monday.
Vakul Jindal, Superintendent of Police, Guntur, who rushed to the spot and assessed the situation, told reporters that around 22 bundles of permanently lubricated pipes were engulfed in flames. He added that firefighting teams quickly rushed to the scene and were working diligently to control the massive fire.
The cause of the accident has not yet been confirmed, but preliminary investigations revealed that a severe fire broke out at the site where a huge dump of PVC pipes was stored. This raw material is supposed to be used in the ongoing development work to provide amenities for new buildings in the capital area.
“Significant damage has been caused to equipment stored in the HOD tower infrastructure,” the service provider said.
On Tuesday, Jindal, accompanied by Additional Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) ATV Ramana Kumar, visited the site for a detailed inspection. Teams from the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) examined the affected area.
This is the second incident of its kind in the past two weeks. On March 11, a similar fire broke out on the Seed Access Road in the capital region, where plastic pipes worth thousands of rupees belonging to another major construction company were destroyed and reduced to ashes.
“The successive fire incidents in the capital have led to suspicion of a possible conspiracy by some vested political interests to obstruct the construction of the capital and discredit the state government,” Home Minister Vanjalapudi Anitha told reporters on Tuesday.
Also in May 2025, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Amaravati, unidentified individuals allegedly started bush fires in the capital region.
The Prime Minister, who reviewed the situation at a high-level meeting in the evening, ordered the authorities to ascertain whether the repeated incidents were accidental or part of a deliberate attempt to disrupt ongoing development activities.
He noted that the pattern and frequency of such incidents was “suspicious” and called for a deeper, multi-angle investigation. The meeting was attended by Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta, Guntur SP Vakul Jindal and State Intelligence Chief Mahesh Kumar Ladda, who briefed him about the Rayapudi fire incident involving construction materials.
Naidu told them that in view of past events and recent fire incidents in Amaravati, investigators must examine all possible angles, including sabotage, and establish the facts through a scientific and evidence-based approach.
Naidu requested detailed information on the timeline of the incident, including when the fire broke out and when emergency services were alerted. He also questioned officials about the speed at which the fire spread at the site, and directed them to rely on forensic evidence to determine the exact cause of the fire.
The Prime Minister expressed concern over the vulnerability of high-value items stored at multiple construction sites in the capital region and called for immediate strengthening of security measures.
He directed increased police patrols in construction areas, mandatory installation of surveillance cameras in material storage yards, deployment of private security personnel by construction companies, use of drones to monitor sensitive areas, close monitoring of suspicious movements and verification of unknown persons.
Naidu also urged construction companies to take proactive responsibility to protect their materials and ensure strict adherence to security protocols.
