Charred body found day after fire breaks out at Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar market

Shahnawaz worked at the shop with his brother Aftab. Aftab didn’t realise that Shahnawaz had not left because they both exit from two doors that open on different streets

The charred body of a 19-year-old employee was found on the second floor of a shop which caught fire in Gandhi Nagar market on Wednesday evening.

Firefighters inspect the incident site after a fire broke out at Gandhi Nagar's cloth market, in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI)

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram identified the deceased man by his first name as Shahnawaz, a resident of Khureji Khas.

According to police, Shahnawaz’s brother Aftab, 32, said he had been working at Jai Ambe Garments for the last 12 years and Shahnawaz had joined a few months ago. Aftab downed the shutters around 5pm and left with four-five other shop employees. He said he didn’t realise that Shahnawaz had not left the shop because they both usually exited the building from two doors that opened onto different streets. He added that he and the others strolled back towards the rear of the shop after a few minutes to kill time. That’s when they noticed smoke emanating from the shop.

“Aftab immediately called the owner and went back to the front of shop. He heard Shahnawaz call for help and realised he was trapped inside. Aftab and the others told Shahnawaz to go upstairs and attempted to break open the shutters. However, by the time they broke the lock, the fire had spread and they could not find Shahnawaz,” the DCP said.

A fire service official, who requested anonymity, said no one informed them about a trapped person inside the building before they began to douse the fire. “We could have at least tried to save him if we knew,” he said.

However, police are not clear as to why Aftab did not inform the fire officials. Aftab, meanwhile, could not be reached for comment.

The forensics and crime team visited the spot and said that one shop and another four-storey building were gutted in the incident. Police said they have registered a case in the matter under sections 304A and 285 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to Delhi Fire Service director Atul Garg, the fire call was received at 5:40pm. “The fire was reported from a shop and godown housing hosiery material. Initially, a few fire tenders were pressed into service,” he said, adding that due to the nature of material, the fire spread to other floors.

Eventually, 35 fire tenders were pressed into service and about 150 fire personnel worked to douse the fire which was brought under control around 10pm. “A few hours into the operation, the fire spread to severe levels but around 10pm, the situation was brought under control and the fire became manageable,” he said, adding that it was completely doused by 3.35am on Thursday.

To be sure, shops in Gandhi Nagar market are located in cramped lanes with several overhead wires hanging from poles. The location posed a challenge for fire tenders, which could not enter the narrow lanes. “We had to park the fire tenders outside the street and lay pipes for at least 400 metres, which posed a challenge while trying to douse the fire,” a fire official said.