Police arrest two after building fire kills 27 and injures 12 in New Delhi
Building had no clearance from fire department and didn’t have safety equipment
Police arrested two owners of a company that manufactures and sells security cameras after a massive fire reportedly started in their office in a four-story commercial building in the Indian capital, killing 27 people and injuring 12 others, police and fire officials said yesterday.
The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and a criminal conspiracy that is punishable with life imprisonment or 10 years in jail. The building had no clearance from the fire department and it was not equipped with fire safety equipment like extinguishers, said Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Services.
Garg said the fire started on the first floor of the building Friday evening and spread quickly to other areas where inflammable plastic material used to manufacture equipment including security cameras and a large quantity of cardboard used for packaging were stored.
All 27 bodies were recovered from the second floor where people attending a motivational meeting were engulfed in the fire, Garg said.
Badly burnt
Only five victims have been identified so far because badly charred bodies were making identification difficult, he said, adding that the rescue work was over. At least 50 people were rescued from the building, which contains mainly shops, the fire control room said. The building is located in the Mundka area in western New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was saddened by the loss of lives and wished for the speedy recovery of the 12 injured who have been hospitalised.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, after visiting the site, said: “It is a very unfortunate incident. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry. The guilty won’t be spared. Two brothers have been arrested so far.”
He added that the kin of the deceased will be provided an ex gratia relief of Rs10 lakh each, while the injured will be given Rs50,000 per person by the Delhi government.