Residents cite delayed response in the death of ex-CCI chief Dhanendra Kumar

As flames engulfed former CCI chairman Dhanendra Kumar’s Hauz Khas residence late at night, neighbours scrambled to remove cars from narrow lanes, form bucket chains and rescue trapped family members, with residents alleging that delayed fire tenders, chaotic parking and “fortress-like” barricading of colonies hampered the emergency response to the blaze that claimed the retired bureaucrat’s life.

Days before his 80th birthday on June 6 and with preparations underway for a family gathering on May 30, Kumar, a retired IAS officer and former Executive Director representing India at the World Bank, died due to smoke inhalation after the fire broke out at his south Delhi home on Wednesday night. His son, who had flown in from London for Kumar’s upcoming birthday celebrations, remains hospitalised after inhaling smoke while trying to rescue his father.

Residents of Hauz Khas Enclave said the tragedy exposed deeper concerns over emergency preparedness in Delhi’s gated colonies, where roads are often blocked or narrowed due to security barricades and indiscriminate parking.

“This could have been avoided if the fire department had not taken so much time to respond. I made the first call around 11.15 pm and then three more calls, but it took them around 50 minutes to come. By that time, we were trying to douse the fire ourselves along with police personnel using water buckets,” Abhishek Ranjan, Kumar’s manager for the past 14 years, said

According to Ranjan, the fire started after a suspected short circuit in the indoor unit of an air-conditioner and quickly spread through curtains and furniture on the ground floor. “The entire ground floor is gutted,” he said.

The first alarm, residents said, came not from sirens but from a night guard patrolling the colony.

“The guard on night duty saw the blaze and alerted neighbours, who joined the staff members to help douse the fire,” Kumar’s next-door neighbour, who did not wish to be identified, said.

As panic spread, residents rushed downstairs to move vehicles blocking access to the house.

“Apart from fire tenders being late, the cars parked on both sides of the roads also delayed movement. Some neighbours immediately tried to remove their vehicles. Parking on both sides is a major problem and something should be done,” the neighbour said.

Several residents also pointed to another issue increasingly common in Delhi neighbourhoods - colonies turning into “fortresses” at night with barricades and restricted entry points.

“There is also a problem that in areas like Hauz Khas Enclave, colonies are barricaded from all sides in the name of security. It creates problems during emergencies,” the neighbour said.

Another resident, Juvesh Gupta, said Delhi’s emergency response system was struggling to cope with the city’s maze of sealed colonies and gated neighbourhoods.

“At night, colonies get sealed off in the name of security. But if roads are blocked from all sides, how will ambulances or fire brigades enter? In emergencies, they waste 15-20 minutes just figuring out the route or waiting for the gates to open,” he said.

Though Gupta clarified that Hauz Khas Enclave remained accessible from multiple sides, he said the issue reflected a larger citywide problem.

“What preparations has the Government made for this season across Delhi? In many congested colonies, emergency services simply cannot reach in time,” he added.

Domestic staff member Ramesh Kumar said the smoke spread rapidly through the house. “We first evacuated ma’am because she is on a wheelchair. Sir was also taken out with the help of his son and us and sent to hospital,” he said. “The smoke became unbearable. The fire kept spreading and sir could not get a chance to come out in time,” he added.

A case has been registered under sections 106 (Causing death by negligence) and 287 (rash or negligent conduct involving fire or combustible materials) of the BNS.