The government has formed a seven-member high-powered committee to investigate the fire that broke out in building No. 7 of the Secretariat in Dhaka early today.

The seven-member committee was formed on Thursday. This information is known from an office order of the Administration and Discipline Branch of the Cabinet Division of the government.

The office order says that the committee can add one or more members (co-opt) if necessary. The committee will submit a report within the next seven working days.

The committee, headed by Mohammad Khaled Rahim, additional secretary (district administration) of the Cabinet Division, has been tasked with uncovering the cause of the flame and assessing the damage, according to an office order of the Cabinet Division.

The committee will include representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, the Ministry of Local Government, and the Ministry of Housing and Public Works; each representative will hold a rank from joint secretary or above, as specified in the order.

Additionally, representatives from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the Fire Service and Civil Defence will also be part of the committee.

The committee's secretary will be the representative from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works.

The fire, which broke out on the sixth floor of Secretariat Building No. 7 around 1:52am, was completely extinguished after 10 hours of effort.