Building owner, manager held; crime branch will probe how fire started

NEW DELHI: In less than 10 hours after 43 workers were killed in a fire at a five-storey building in north Delhi’s Anaj Mandi on Sunday morning, police arrested the building owner, who had fled to Uttar Pradesh as well as his manager, who was hiding at a relative’s house in Delhi.

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Monika Bhardwaj said Mohammad Rehan, 43, the owner of the building, and his manager Furkaan, 39, were booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 304 (culpable homicide) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide). One of the investigators, who did not wish to be named, said Rehan, who lives in a lane nearby the building that caught fire, fled to Uttar Pradesh on learning that many were feared dead in the blaze. “He also alerted his manager who, too, fled to a relative’s house to evade arrest. But both were arrested within hours,” the officer said.

After his arrest, Rehan reportedly told police that he had bought a portion of the building in 2004. “The building is owned by several people in Rehan’s family. While Rehan owns around 60% of it, his brothers and in-laws own the other portions. It was also found that multiple small scale factories, managed by contractors, were operating out of the building. All of them will be questioned and if found negligent will be booked,” the officer said. Forensic teams also reached the site to collect samples. “Some raw material kept in the manufacturing units in the building, which may have fuelled the fire, were collected.