Mundka fire: Kin of 24 victims submit DNA sample

Of the three people whose samples were not received so far, are motivational speaker Kailash Jyani and his son Amit, as their relatives stay in Australia. The family of a third person who has been named among those missing, was yet to reach Delhi from their native village in Bihar.

New Delhi: Family members of the 24 people -- of the total 27 -- who were killed in the Mundka building fire have given their DNA sample at the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial hospital to help the forensic experts identify the charred bodies of their relatives, police officials said.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel clear the charred debris from a burnt floor a day after a fire broke out in a commercial building at Mundka, New Delhi. (HT PHOTO.)(HT_PRINT)

Of the three people whose samples were not received so far, are motivational speaker Kailash Jyani and his son Amit, as their relatives stay in Australia. The family of a third person who has been named among those missing, was yet to reach Delhi from their native village in Bihar.

Though bodies of eight victims have been identified so far, the police have asked all families to submit their DNA samples.

A massive blaze broke out in a CCTV assembling unit that was running in a four-storey building in Mundka on Friday. The fire, officials said, started on the first floor and then swept through the building, engulfing the only staircase in the building and trapping people.

The 27 bodies recovered from the building were completely charred, and the police have roped in forensic experts who collected samples from the scene, and are also helping the hospital authorities to identify the victims.

Deepa Verma, Director, Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini, had on Saturday confirmed that two teams of senior forensic experts are working with police.

Deputy commissioner of police (outer) Sameer Sharma said while eight people have been identified by their families, gender of 17 bodies has also become clear. The doctors said that 14 bodies found so far are that of women and three of men.

He said the DNA tests will be conducted on all bodies to ensure that they are claimed by the right persons.

DCP Sharma said that police are in touch with forensic experts to expedite the sampling process, and added that they will try get the results in 5-10 days.

Parveen, resident of Nangloi who goes by his first name, worked at the company as a graphic designer cum sales executive. He is among the unidentified/missing persons.

His brother, Pawan Gupta, 34, is among those who have given their DNA samples. “They had taken my blood sample around 6pm on Saturday. They just took me to a room, wrote my name on a paper and some details of my brother Parveen, took my blood and asked me to go. They didn’t make me sign on any paper or give me any receipt. The whole process took less than 2-3minutes,” said Gupta, a resident of Patel Nagar.

The family said that they had come to the mortuary on Sunday to ask when the DNA results would come. Pawan said that while one official told them that it would take a few days, another said the results could take a month. “We don’t know what to do but to wait. We have been struggling for three days now,” Pawan said.

Parveen is survived by his wife and three children including 2-year-old twins. “ I used to tell him to quit this job because it demanded more than 12 hours of work. We still haven’t told his wife that he may have passed away. I don’t know what to tell her when I return home,” Gupta said.

Krishan Pal, 38, was looking for his wife, Asha, 30, in the hospital on Sunday. A mortuary official said that he had seen the bodies on Saturday and couldn’t identify his wife but wanted to see them again on Sunday. “They are not letting us see the bodies today. Once identified, at least we’ll get to know if our family members are dead,” said Pal.