Owner of fire-ravaged Bawana firecracker storage unit arrested

NEW DELHI: Police have arrested the owner of the firecracker storage unit in Bawana where 17 people were killed in a massive blaze on Saturday.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Manoj Jain, who ran the factory, has been arrested. A probe revealed it was a factory of “cold firecrackers” used in stage shows and Holi celebrations, said Rajneesh Gupta, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini).

Firecracker packages found at the site suggest the same, he said. Jain had rented the factory from January 1, the DCP said.

Seven of those killed have been identified as Baby Devi (40), Afshana (35), Sonam (23), Reeta (18), Nadeen (55), Rakho (65) and Dharma Devi (45), he said. The fire had started in the storage unit on the ground floor of the two-storey building and ripped through the structure. Of the 17 killed, ten were women. A man and woman were injured.

Police said an FIR had been registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible material. The maximum punishment under the sections is 10 years. Jain was apprehended and questioned on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: For the eyewitnesses at the spot, the scenes that occurred before and after the fire at the Bawana factory was a horrifying experience, that will be etched in their memories for long.

Mamta was one of the first respondents, who informed the fire department after the factory caught fire.

“I was at my shop, when I saw the fire. I ran to the park located nearby the factory, but I could not do anything to help. All of them died due to heat and even it became very hard for me to breathe. So I ran away and informed the authorities,” Mamta told Millennium Post, adding that she cannot forget the scenes.

After the fire was called in, a team from Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) reached the spot.

Chandrapal Kashyap, one of the rescuers, said that he saw bodies lying everywhere inside the factory.

The body parts of some victims had even come out of their charred bodies.

“It was all dark after the fire had stopped. And the rescue work took more than two hours. It was a gory scene,” said Kashyap.

Standing near the burnt down factory located in F-83, Sector 5, Bawana, SP Mittal, a civil defence official, said that they have not yet entered the factory, as there are many things lying all around.

“We have called the MCD and after clearance, we will go inside to check if any more bodies was lying,” he said.

Meanwhile, family members of the deceased claimed that Saturday was an off day for the factory workers, but they had been called for work and told to work overtime.

The victims had no choice, as they were getting a few thousands of rupees and had to feed their family.

“My mother had to work for 12 hours and her salary was Rs 5,000. After working overtime, she used to earn Rs 12,000,” said Mobina, daughter of Madina, a deceased worker.

Deepu, the brother of the deceased Reeta, confirmed that Saturday was an off day, but the factory owner had called his sister to work.

Reeta’s family also claimed that they were unaware that explosives were manufactured present in the factory and the 18-year-old girl had joined the factory only a few days ago.

“Due to our poor situation, my mother started working at the factory. We did not know that the factory was of firecrackers. We thought it was a plastic factory,” said Chintu, the son of deceased Baby Devi.

Some said the blaze also claimed the live of Soni, a pregnant woman. “We were looking forward to the birth of Soni’s child but everything is lost,” her mother said.

Meanwhile, DCP (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta told Millennium Post they are verifying whether the pregnant woman was among the victims.