Earlier today (around 9 pm), a major fire broke out at the IC&SR (Industrial Consultancies and Sponsored Research) building. The fire was soon located to the NPTEL office in the third floor and did not spread beyond the third floor. There is speculation that the source of the fire was a short circuit but this is unconfirmed.
The Director was at the scene shortly and confirmed that there were no casualties. Nobody was in the building at the time the fire broke out. It has been reported that people left the NPTEL offices 15 minutes before the fire began. Water tanks and fire engines promptly reached the scene, continued arriving even around midnight and the fire was soon brought under control.
Once it was clear that there was no danger, more bystanders began pouring in, including external media, families with children, staff, students and professors. However, the fire was a massive one and the damage to the building and its contents remains to be specified. The third floor external wall is clearly charred from the outside.
You can view two videos of the scene here and here. A third video showing the scale of the fire can be viewed here.
