Delhi: Last victim of Mundka fire tragedy laid to rest

Deputy commissioner of police (outer) Sameer Sharma said, “Last rites of the last deceased Geeta Devi , one of the victims of Mundka fire incident, were performed at Sultanpuri crematorium. May all the 27 victims rest in peace,” he said adding that police facilitated the funeral.

The mortal remains of Geeta Devi, one of the 27 victims of the May 13 fire at a Mundka CCTV assembling unit, were cremated on Wednesday. Geeta was the last person to be laid to rest among the victims after her DNA was matched with that of her brother, and the family claimed the remains.

The police had to conduct DNA tests on the bodies of the 27 people who died in the blaze in Mundka, one of the most deadly fire incidents in Delhi, since they were charred beyond recognition. (PTI)

The police had to conduct DNA tests on the bodies of the 27 people who died in the blaze in Mundka, one of the most deadly fire incidents in Delhi, since they were charred beyond recognition. Though eight bodies were claimed by their relatives who said they identified them with either an ornament or another distinguishing feature, the police asked for DNA samples from all relatives.

Deputy commissioner of police (outer) Sameer Sharma said, “Last rites of the last deceased Geeta Devi , one of the victims of Mundka fire incident, were performed at Sultanpuri crematorium. May all the 27 victims rest in peace,” he said adding that police facilitated the funeral.

Geeta Devi used to live on rent in a one-bedroom set house in Mubarakpur Dabas’ Parvesh Nagar, where her neighbours and house owners said she was never visited by any family members. A native of Bihar, her husband had passed away over five years ago and the couple had no children. She used to do odd jobs too survive.

On May 13, when fire broke out in the assembling unit in Mundka, she had only been working there for about 10 days. In absence of any immediate family members, police had a tough time finding her relatives.

Geeta Devi’s brother Mantu Kumar (30), resident of Bihar, said that they received a call from police three days ago that her DNA profile has matched with him and a sister, and that they should come to Delhi to claim the body. “We came here on Tuesday morning and went to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital. The post-mortem was conducted and we performed the last rites, Two police officers also came with us,” he said.

Mantu also said that their 60-year-old mother has also come along and she has been unwell ever since she heard about Geeta’s death. “It’s not easy to lose your children. We have been consoling mother,” he said.

Police found Mantu Kumar and Geeta’s sister after going through her call detail records. On May 14, Geeta Devi’s landlord reached the mortuary to look for her body.

Her landlord’s son Bhaskar said on Wednesday, “We are glad that her last rites have finally been performed. It had been very long. Though we were prepared to perform her last rites if her family wasn’t found,” he said.