‘Not feasible’: Report on Palam building fire inconclusive

Delhi Police report on fatal fire that killed nine family members is inconclusive; further investigation needed to determine the cause.

Eighteen days after nine members of a family, including three children, were killed in a massive blaze that ripped through their four-storey residential-cum-commercial building in southwest Delhi’s Palam Colony, the Delhi Police on Sunday said the report on the exact cause of the fire was “inconclusive”.

The report was released from electrical inspector office under the labour department of Delhi government. (Hindustan Times)

The report was released from electrical inspector office under the labour department of Delhi government.“The report states: It is not feasible to ascertain whether the fire caused damage to the insulation of the electrical installation, or whether the fire broke out after a short circuit occurred in the electrical installation,” said a senior police officer.

Now, investigators are waiting for reports from other agencies such as the forensic laboratory to determine the cause of the fire.

The blaze, which erupted in the early hours of March 18 claimed the lives of mother Lado Kashyap (70) and three of her children Kamal (39); Pravesh Kashyap (33); Himanshi (22). Kamal’s wife Ashu (35) and their three daughters, Niharika (15) Ivani (6) and Jaisika (3) as well as Anil’s wife, Deepika (28), were also killed in the blaze that has shattered three generations of the family of 19. At least six members of a family spent an agonising 90 minutes pleading for rescue from the third floor, before collapsing.

An initial probe in the days after the fire suggested it was caused by a short-circuit in the grid line between the ground and first floor. However, police said it had to be confirmed after a formal report by the electricity department.