S Delhi: Short circuit suspected in Tigri Extension fire which killed 4

Police say the blaze began on the ground floor, which stored petrol, car parts and footwear material; licence records for commercial use remain untraced.

A day after a massive fire in a four-storey residential building in South Delhi’s Tigri Extension killed four persons and injured two others, police said on Sunday that two of the deceased remain unidentified, as their bodies were charred beyond recognition. An FIR has been registered against building owner Satendra Gupta, also known as Jimmy, 48, who also died in the blaze.

Over 15 people were inside the building when the fire erupted; a third-floor resident jumped to escape and suffered severe injuries, relatives said. (Arvind Yadav/HT)

Police said the fire broke out around 7 pm on Saturday on the ground floor, which housed a footwear assembling unit and store owned by Satendra, along with a water can shop and another shop storing car parts and petrol. The upper floors had family tenants. Over 15 people were inside the building at the time.

Police are examining whether the building was licensed for commercial activities involving fuel and storage. No such permit has been traced so far, officers said.

Neighbour Vipin Kumar said, “It happened in seconds. There was so much petrol or fuel inside that the fire spread to the entire building. We tried to go from adjacent buildings and save some people, but the fire was very bad. Children were screaming. We were only able to save them.”

His brother-in-law, Neeraj Gupta, said, “The fire started from the ground floor when everyone was upstairs. His children and family rushed to save themselves, but Satendra was trapped. We don’t think he had time to escape. There were blasts happening. The second person who died was his tenant. We don’t know who others are… We think a short circuit led to the blast.”

A senior police officer said CCTV footage will be checked on Monday to establish the identities of the two unidentified victims. “Satendra and Anita’s family have already come,” he added.

One of the injured, Mamta, a third-floor resident, jumped to escape and suffered severe injuries. Her uncle, Sanjeev Kumar, said, “There was no way for her to get out, as the fire had spread to all four floors…” She climbed down and then jumped.”