Police find many instances of negligence
‘Commercial work at residential building, no panic alarm’
NEW DELHI: No panic alarm, no fire fighting equipment and commercial work at the residential building, were among the many instances of negligence found by Delhi Police during its investigation into the Anaj Mandi inferno in North Delhi. Police are investigating the role of other people in the case.
According to police, there was no arrangement for the fire safety inside the building. "There was no escape route in the building," said an official privy to the investigation.the findings of city police claimed that after the incident, the rescued people were so terrified that they were not able to tell the sequence of the events.
Investigation has revealed that at the initial stage of the fire, the PCR caller informed police that there was a fire in the house but they do not know whether anyone was injured. After receiving the information, few policemen reached the spot which was building number 8,273, Anaj Mandi in Sadar Bazaar. In the meantime the fire tenders, PCR also reached the spot and started dousing the fire. The investigation further revealed that there was heavy smoke which was disrupting the rescue
operation.
From the spot, control room got another call in which the caller asked the police to send more staff at the spot and in a few minutes police personnel, ambulances, NDRF, disaster management, BSES reached near the building.
"After an intense effort, few labourers who were trapped inside the building were rescued. They were sent to the hospital," an investigator said, adding that the rescue operation
took more than three hours. An SHO gave order to the two policemen to go to hospitals and collect details regarding MLCS and injured people.
During the rescue operation, sub-inspector Sandeep Kumar and constable Naresh were feeling uneasiness. They were sent to the hospital. Later the mobile crime team of north Delhi inspected the building. "On the ground floor and first floor, a huge amount of card
boxes and mirror frames were found lying. On second, third and fourth floors things including clothes, machines were found in burnt condition," the investigation revealed.
Police have also recorded statement of seven other witness who were present in the building at the time of incident.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Fire Services said that till December 9, they received more than 23,000 fire-related calls from various parts of the city.