Major blaze guts 500 jhuggis in Rithala; 30-year-old man dies

While fire department officials said they were ascertaining the exact cause of the fire, residents of the slum claimed that a spark in the nearby electricity transformer led to the fire which expanded after some cooking gas cylinders caught the flame

New DelhiA 30-year-old man was charred to death while another suffered burn injuries after a massive fire broke out in a slum cluster near Rithala metro station in northwest Delhi on Friday night. The fire allegedly turned nearly 500 jhuggis to ashes, rendering around 2,000 slum dwellers homeless, as per officials from the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) and Delhi Police.

Survivors pick up the pieces after the fire (Vipin Kumar/ HT)

While fire department officials said they were ascertaining the exact cause of the fire, residents of the slum claimed that a spark in the nearby electricity transformer led to the fire which expanded after some cooking gas cylinders caught the flames. The fire also claimed lives of some animals and gutted a few vehicles, a resident said.

At least 28 fire tenders and three firefighting robots worked for more than 10 hours to douse the fire, a DFS official said, adding that the fire control room was informed about the incident at 10.56pm. Initially, five fire tenders were dispatched, however, when it turned major, 23 more vehicles, three firefighting robots and over 60 firefighters were deployed in the operation.

“The fire engulfed 400-500 jhuggis and it was brought under control by 9am on Saturday. During the search operation, the charred body of a 30-year-old man, identified as Munna, was recovered from the spot. Another person, identified as Rajesh,30, sustained burns and was shifted to Safdarjung hospital for medical attention,” said a fire official, who asked not to be named.

Munna worked as a ragpicker and lived with his seven siblings and mother in the slum. He had recently come back from his village in West Bengal, where his six-year-old daughter and wife live.

Rajesh’s brother confirmed that his situation has slightly improved.

“While he was running out, his leg got stuck in a bike’s silencer. All my family members dispersed and we thought he would be out somewhere. In the morning, when the fire was extinguished and all of us gradually came back to pick our things, we discovered his burnt body near the bike,” Roshni, Munna’s sister-in-law said.

An official from the office of district magistrate (northwest) said a temporary relief centre is being put up in a park nearby to accommodate the affected residents.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Sandeep Gupta said a case has been registered. “We have registered a complaint of negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter, act endangering life or personal safety of others, and causing death by negligence under sections 287,125 and 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Budh Vihar police station and taken up the probe. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained,” he said.

Residents of the slum said they were living there for the past 25 years. Most of them were sleeping when the fire started and they had to suddenly run to save their lives. Panic struck the area, which has high walls on all four sides and has only one major exit. As the fire grew, anxious dwellers broke the walls to find a way out, they explained.

“I went to sleep at around 10pm and within a few minutes I heard sounds of LPG cylinder blast, smoke and people screaming all around. Some were holding their kids and others were making ways for their animals to be out,” said 23-year-old Milli, who is a native of West Bengal.

Locals said it was the third fire incident in their slum since 2010 but the first one when a life was lost.

HT visited the spot on Saturday and saw some women with their belongings and kids sitting on half burnt mattresses outside closed shops, while others rummaged through the area to collect whatever valuables were left.

They told HT that they lost all their documents, including school certificates of students, Aadhaar Cards, ration cards and voter IDs besides valuables like cash and jewellery.

“I had books, a bag, a school uniform and shoes. But everything was burnt. I’ve now asked my teachers if I will get another set of books from the school,” said 14-year-old Yasmin Sultana, who studies in Class 8 in a nearby government school.