Delhi: Mundka building violations now under NHRC lens

A team from the NHRC on Monday visited the spot to probe if the workers in the building were subjected to any human rights violations

Taking suo-motu cognisance of the fire in an illegal commercial four-storey building in Mundka that claimed the lives of 27 people and left 17 others injured, a team from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday visited the spot to probe if the workers in the building were subjected to any human rights violations.

NHRC officials inspect the building near Mundka Metro Station on Monday. (ANI)

“NHRC has taken a suo-motu cognizance (of the fire tragedy) and formed a team that will look into the violations related to human rights. The probe has started and it is the first day of our visit to the incident spot. As facts emerge and come to our notice, accordingly the probe will progress,” said Sunil Meena, deputy inspector general, NHRC, who led the probe team.

In a statement on Sunday, the NHRC on Sunday also expressed serious concern over the fire incident and “reported callousness of authorities”, mentioning that it has sent a notice to the Delhi government’s chief secretary to submit a report within two weeks on several aspects including the “action taken against the responsible authorities/officers, fixing the culpability” and “status of disbursement of the relief/rehabilitation granted by the government, if any”.

The fire broke out at the building on Friday and the police have already arrested the owner of the building and the two brothers who ran an illegal assembly unit occupying three floors inside it. Of the 27 people killed in the fire, only eight have been identified and investigators have collected DNA samples from the families of the missing people to identify the remaining bodies. The fire department suspects that the blaze started on the first floor due to a short-circuit. There were 200-250 people inside the building at the time of the tragedy, survivors and locals, who rescued most of them, said.

Around 1pm on Monday, the four-member NHRC team reached the incident spot, inspected all the floors of the building and spoke with officials of the fire and police departments that were present there. The station house officer (SHO) of Mundka Police station, a crime scene investigation team and fire officials assisted the NHRC team which first inspected the front portion of the building and then went inside and the floors above through the lone staircase.

“The NHRC officials asked about the spots where the bodies were found and also about the area at the building from where the fire originated. They also enquired about the number of people who worked in the building. They will focus their probe on the working condition of the employees and violations of their human rights, apart from the reasons because of which people were trapped inside the building and 27 of them had a tragic end,” said a police officer, who asked not to be named.

After an hour-long inspection, the NHRC team came out of the building, reinspected the shops in the front portion, and left.

‘Cramped space, no phones allowed’

A few people, who worked on the three floors rented out to the illegal factory unit assembling CCTV cameras, Wi-Fi routers and RO water purifiers, alleged that they had to work in close proximity on the floors as there were many too employees. Some further alleged that they were not allowed to use cellphones during work and that their phones were collected before the start of their daily shift. They also complained about low salaries and long working hours.

Sunita, mother of Sonam (20) who is among those reported missing after the fire, said that mobile phones of all workers, especially those engaged in assembling work, used to be taken at the start of the shift around 7am and were returned only briefly during lunch. “They used to take it again and return only at the end of the shift. The only time the employees could use the phones was during the lunch break,” said Sunita, who has given her DNA sample to check if her daughter is among the 19 bodies remaining to be identified.

Mohammad Naseem, whose wife Asia is among the missing employees, said that he used to work in the same building but left the work around three months ago because of the poor salary.

Pushpa Panwar, who survived the fire by climbing down the building on a crane, said the building had a single entry and exit despite nearly 250 people working inside. She alleged that materials were also kept on the staircase and that the building owner used to keep the door leading to the terrace closed. “They should have at least made more entries and exits for people. The rich only care about their own money,” she said.