Palam fire: Human rights body seeks chief secy, police response as blaze kills 9

The commission issued notice to the Delhi chief secretary and Delhi Police commissioner, asking for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a fire at a multi-storeyed mixed land use building in Palam that killed nine members of a family and left three others injured on March 18.

A gutted building is seen in Sadh Nagar, Palam, where a fire resulted in the death of nine members of a family last week. (Hindustan Times)

The commission issued notice to the Delhi chief secretary and Delhi Police commissioner, asking for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.

In a statement, it said, “...reportedly, the fire brigade teams’ hydraulic crane developed some technical snag, resulting in delayed rescue operation. Locals alleged that timely functioning of the equipment could have saved more lives.”

The fire started at around 6.15am, reportedly due to a short circuit at a ground-floor shop and quickly spread to the residential floors above. Reportedly, the locals tried to rescue the trapped persons by breaking the windows and walls of the house. A few got injured while they were reportedly trying to escape or rescue others.

The NHRC also cited a newspaper report published on March 19.

“The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights. Therefore, it has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks. It is expected to include the status of compensation disbursement to the aggrieved and the injured persons,” the statement read.

While addressing the Delhi Assembly on Monday, Delhi home minister Ashish Sood said the initial report by the Delhi Fire Services states that “highly inflammable” materials were stored in the basement of the building in Palam.

“The initial report states that only a single staircase, from ground to terrace floor, was present, which was not accessible from outside of the building,” he said.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party questioned why the report does not mention the delay in rescue operations.