Fire in nail polish factory kills one; 2 hurt
The owners were planning to shift the factory to some other building and the welding work was a part of the shifting process they have told us. We are still verifying these claims.
MN TIWARI, Additional commissioner of police (outer)
NEWDELHI: The 45-year-old owner of a nail polish factory in outer Delhi’s Mangolpuri was killed and two others were critically injured after a fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon. Delhi Fire Services said the factory was functioning without a NOC from the fire department.
The deceased, identified as Rajesh Gulati, along with his father Manoharlal Gulati co-owned the factory — Shiva Cosmetics — located in Mangolpuri Industrial Area, police said.
Tuesday’s blaze was the latest in a series of fires reported from the city that have so far claimed 29 lives. It comes two days after two children were injured in a blaze at a bulb factory in north- west Delhi.
Additional commissioner of police (outer) MN Tiwari said the police control room received information about the fire around 4.22pm. the caller said that a fire had started in a factory in F Block Industrial Area and a police team immediately rushed to the spot.
“The building where the fire started has four storeys. The fire was on the second and the third floor. Three people were found injured on the second floor. They were rescued and sent to a hospital in a CATS ambulance,” said chief fire officer (DFS) Atul Garg.
The injured were identified as Chandan Mehta, 41, Lalit Kumar, 40, and Rajesh Gulati, 45. They were taken to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital where Gulati was declared brought dead while the other two are currently hospitalized, said Tiwari.
“Gulati was a resident of Mianwali while Mehta and Kumar live in Vikaspuri and Mangolpuri respectively. Both the injured were working as welding labourers in the factory,” said Tiwari. The fire was doused in just under an hour and seven fire tenders were pressed into service.
Prodded on the cause of the fire, the DCP said, it appears that it started from the welding torch.
“We have registered a case under sections 304 A (causing death by negligence), 285 (Negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 337 (endangering the personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and are probing the matter further,” said Tiwari.
Garg added that the factory was functioning without a clearance from them and lacked basic firefighting measures. The police, however, added that the factory was shut for the past few months.
“The owners were planning to shift the factory to some other building and the welding work was a part of the shifting process they have told us. We are verifying these claims,” said Tiwari.