Fire at east Delhi building, 3 killed

The victims’ families alleged that the building was constructed illegally with five floors having eight flats instead of four flats

Three people, including a 68-year-old woman, were killed after a massive fire engulfed a residential building at Krishna Nagar in east Delhi in the early hours of Sunday. The blaze started at an illegal scooter godown located at the parking space of the four-storey building, officials aware of the matter said.

The charred two-wheelers at the parking lot of the building where fire broke out in Krishna Nagar on Sunday. (Arvind Yadav/HT)

The victims’ families alleged that the building was constructed illegally with five floors having eight flats instead of four flats. No arrests have been made so far, they added.

The incident took place about 5 km from the Baby Care Newborn Hospital at Vivek Vihar in east Delhi where six newborns died after a fire broke out at the facility late on Saturday night.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (Shahdara) Surendra Chaudhary said that the deceased were identified as Promila Sadh, 68, Anju Sharma, 39, and her son Keshav Sharma, 18.

Sadh’s daughter Sonam Sadh, 24, sustained severe burns and has been admitted to a city hospital. The other injured victims were identified as Karan Raj Bhalla, 56, his wife Seema Bhalla, 54, their sons Rahul, 33, Rohit, 30, and Manish, 25; Devender Sharma, 45; Gaurav Sharma, 41, his wife Ruchika, 38, and their six-year-old son Divyansh, the DCP added.

The fire department said that they received a call regarding the blaze at 2.35am after which five fire tenders were pressed into service. “The fire broke out at the parking where the two-wheelers were kept, and the blaze spread to the first floor. The building comprises ground floor and four floors above with an area of 100 sq yard. The upper floors were affected by the heat and were filled with smoke,” said Delhi Fire Service director Atul Garg. Sadh’s body was found charred on the first floor and the other two people are suspected to have died of suffocation, he added.

Police said that 14 two-wheelers, including two bicycles, parked on the ground floor parking were found burnt.

DCP Chaudhary said that they have registered a case under section 285 (mischief by fire), 304A (causing death by negligence), 337 (act endangering life), and 427 (mischief causing loss) of the Indian Penal Code at Krishna Nagar police station.

A neighbour, Vijay Kumar, 45, said that around 2am, he was awake and saw the fire in the parking and heard people crying for help. “There is a godown of electric and petrol-run two wheelers in the parking and the owner of the godown charges the EV scooters at night. When the fire broke out, some people managed to escape by themselves. Some residents were rescued by the locals and some by the fire department.

Sapna Sadh, 38, and her family who live on the street behind the building rescued at least seven people – two from the first floor and a family of five from the second floor. Recalling the incident, she said that she was sleeping when an elderly woman called for help from the first floor. “I asked my husband to get the wooden ladder from the terrace. We extended the ladder from the woman’s balcony on the first floor to our balcony and two people were rescued,” she said, adding that it also helped another family of five to escape from the second floor.

Four delivery agents also helped in this rescue, Sadh said.

The angry family members of Anju Sharma were inconsolable at the Guru Teg Bahadur mortuary and blamed the authorities for building rule violations.

“This is the only building with eight residential flats on the entire street. The municipal department, police and the builder allowed it for their gains. A godown is running from the parking which is completely illegal and from where the fire started,” said Sachin Sharma, 34, Anju’s brother, a businessman.

DCP Chaudhary said that police were investigating the allegations.

Sachin said that his sister suffered from polio and had difficulty to walk.

Talking about his nephew Keshav, he said that he was brought up amid much financial difficulty and was studying to become a Delhi Police constable. “He just passed class 12 and was taking coaching for the state selection commission exam. He wanted to join Delhi Police,” Sharma said.

Pramila’s son-in-law Anish Sadh, 38, said that she lived with her husband, daughter and grandson. “My sister-in-law, Sonam, managed to rescue her father and son but when she went to rescue her mother, she sustained injuries and couldn’t go ahead,” Anish said.