ED Assures No Disruption to Investigations After Fire at Mumbai Office

• Apr 28, 2025

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday confirmed that although some documents and furniture were destroyed in a fire at its Mumbai office, ongoing investigations and trials will not be impacted, thanks to robust digital record-keeping systems.

The fire broke out early Sunday morning around 2:25 a.m. at the mezzanine level (fourth floor) of the Mumbai Zonal Office-I, located in the Kaiser-I-Hind building in Ballard Estate. Preliminary findings suggest the blaze was caused by a short circuit in the power boxes on the fourth floor, the agency said in a statement.

While a detailed damage assessment is underway, initial reports indicate that certain papers and furniture were lost in the incident. However, the ED emphasized that critical evidentiary documents are routinely preserved digitally and backed up through an internal centralized record-keeping system.
“In cases where prosecution complaints have been filed, the original records are already available with the concerned courts,” the statement added.

As a result, the agency stated there is no anticipated hindrance to ongoing investigations or court proceedings.

The ED also reported that offices on the ground and first floors of the Kaiser-I-Hind building remain fully functional. The fourth-floor operations affected by the fire have been temporarily shifted to the agency’s old regional office at Janmabhoomi Chambers, and are now operational.

According to the agency, the fire was first detected by staff and security personnel, who quickly alerted state police on night duty. The police notified the fire brigade at around 2:30 a.m., and firefighting operations began an hour later with more than 50 personnel and multiple fire tenders involved.

Looking ahead, the ED revealed plans for establishing a standalone office in Mumbai. The Maharashtra government recently allocated land for the agency at the Bandra Kurla Complex, and procedural steps are being expedited to set up independent offices at the earliest.