Building owner and manager held, crime branch to probe how fire started - Hindustan Times
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Building owner and manager held, crime branch to probe how fire started

Dec 08, 2019 08:41 PM IST

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.

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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).

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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.

While 43 of the 63 workers, who were inside the building at the time of the fire, were killed, mostly due to asphyxiation, 20 are recuperating at different hospitals in the city.

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. Samples of chemicals stored in a factory in the building were also picked up. These would help the investigators identify the womb (point of origin) and tongue (path through which it spread across the building) of the fire,” one of the investigators, who did not wish to be named, said.

Atul Garg, director, Delhi Fire Service, said they are also investigating whether the building had any fire safety equipment. “A detailed survey will be done to ascertain fire safety violations – width of the exit and entry points of the building, secondary escape routes, width of ladders and height of ceiling. We will also verify if the owner has permission to run commercial units,” Garg said.

By Sunday afternoon, Delhi Police commissioner transferred the investigations to the crime branch.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Rajesh Deo, who also investigated the fire at Hotel Arpit Palace in Karol Bagh, that killed 17 people in February, said they will begin their probe by establishing criminal liability.

“The first step will be to ascertain whether the fire was a result of some mischief, deliberately sparked or an accidental blaze. We will examine reports from the forensics department, electricity department and the Delhi Fire Service to determine criminal liability,” Deo said.

The DCP said they will also look into the material stored at the building to check if there was any illegal substance such as petroleum products or other flammable items that could have magnified the blaze.

“With all these details and from accounts of those who survived the incident, we will recreate the scene to establish the sequence of events. The investigations will also chalk out the role of other agencies and individuals against whom legal action should be initiated,” the officer said.

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