Two unidentified victims of Tigri fire close to being identified, say police

The CCTV trail, the police said, revealed that three men, Ramdeen, Manglu and Mahender, all residents of Defence Colony in Najafgarh, had entered the building before the fire. While one of them escaped, the other two perished in the blaze

Two days after a major fire tore through a four-storey residential building in south Delhi’s Tigri Extension, killing four people, Delhi Police said they were close to identifying the two charred bodies recovered at the scene. Investigators are now trying to reach out to the victims’ families and friends to confirm their identities.

The blaze broke out on Saturday around 6.30pm in a building that housed a footwear shop, a water-can store, and units dealing in car and footwear parts, along with rented rooms on the upper three floors. (HT Photo)

The blaze broke out on Saturday around 6.30pm in a building that housed a footwear shop, a water-can store, and units dealing in car and footwear parts, along with rented rooms on the upper three floors. Around 10 to 15 people were inside at the time, most of whom escaped via the terrace. Police said those trapped on the ground and first floors died in the fire.

Building owner Satendra Gupta (48) was among those killed. The second victim was a tenant, Anita (38), a police spokesperson confirmed. Gupta’s wife, mother, brother and their three children survived the blaze. Police said the family lives in the Defence Colony part of Najafgarh, Delhi.

Police on Monday registered an FIR against Gupta under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for sections 106 (negligence causing death), 125A (act endangering life), and 287 (negligent conduct with respect to fire).

The CCTV trail, the police said, revealed that three men, Ramdeen, Manglu and Mahender, all residents of Defence Colony in Najafgarh, had entered the building before the fire. They were friends who had come to buy shoes at Gupta’s shop.

“They were inside the shop when the fire broke out. According to the footage and our probe, one of them managed to escape, while the other two were charred to death. The third friend did not contact us afterwards. We are tracing him and are also trying to reach the families of all three men to confirm identities,” the DCP said.