Day after Ludhiana factory fire, police recovers charred body of worker

Cops said the search could not be carried out on Saturday as firemen had been focusing on dousing the flames.

A day after fire broke out at a cloth factory on Rahon road, police recovered the charred body of a 25-year-old employee from the building.

Firemen trying to douse the flames at the Ludhiana factory. (HT FILE)

The deceased has been identified as Mukarram. He had been missing since the blaze started, even as all other employees managed to escape on time.

High drama was witnessed in the morning as the labourers’ union gathered outside the factory and demanded a search operation to find their missing colleague. Following this, a fire officer and the Jodhewal Basti police team, led by station house officer Arshpreet Kaur, reached the spot to carry out the search.

Cops said the search could not be carried out on Saturday as firemen had been focusing on dousing the flames.

Ibrahim, the victim’s brother-in-law, said he had been stating since Saturday that Mukarram was inside the building but no one paid heed to him. “No one was willing to listen. We were being pushed and shoved away from the spot where the fire incident had taken place. Even the factory owner kept telling me that Mukarram did not turn up for work and had joined some other unit. He was lying. Had he told the truth, my relative could have been saved,” said Ibrahim.

Mukarram, a native of Bihar, is survived by his wife and two children.

The fire had erupted around 3pm on Saturday. Initially, some workers inside the factory had tried to douse the flames, but on realising that their efforts were proving futile, they informed the fire brigade and rushed out of the factory. The reason behind the incident remains uncertain.