The owner of a building in Delhi’s Mundka, where a massive fire broke out leaving 27 people dead, has been arrested with two others on Sunday. Police said that the owner of the building Manish Lakra and two company owners were arrested.
Twenty-seven people, including 21 women, have died in the blaze that started on the first floor of the four-storey building on Friday.
“We have arrested the absconding building owner Manish Lakra after conducting raids in Delhi and Haryana” said Sameer Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer). Lakhra is a resident of Mundka village, he said.
After the fire in the building, the owner of the building, who stayed at the top floor, escaped with his wife and children. It was revealed in the preliminary investigation that Manish Lakra had smelt that something was burning. So, he escaped from the neighboring rooftop and fled with the family.
An FIR was registered against the owner, who was absconding since the day of the fire. The police is investigating the case and all those involved will be punished.
According to sources, the building was owned by his Manish’s father. However, it was handed to Manish after the father died and he took over the building in 2011.
The building didn’t have the required clearance and no tenant verification was done.
Police said that it could take 5-10 days for the DNA sampling to be completed on the victims and after that the bodies to be returned to the family. DNA samples have been collected and the identification process is underway, they added.
Meanwhile, distraught family members of Mundka fire victims, who are still missing, continued to wait outside Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital on Sunday for their loved ones as 19 bodies are yet to be identified. Nineteen people are still missing and there was little hope of finding survivors.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Saturday sought from the Narela Zone authorities a detailed report, including the type of area and tentative year of construction, of the building in Mundka where a massive fire broke out claiming at least 27 lives, officials said.
The North Delhi civic body also ordered the zonal commissioners to conduct a detailed survey in their areas to find out if any prohibited activity is going on in non-conforming areas to prevent the recurrence of such a tragic incident.
Read all the Latest News , Breaking News and IPL 2022 Live Updates here.
,