Kejriwal announces Rs 10 lakh for family of each deceased; Prez, PM condole deaths
Seven people, including three children, were charred to death after a major fire broke out in the shanties in Gokulpuri in northeast Delhi in the early hours of Saturday.
The police said the reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained and teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory at Rohini visited the spot.
Santu, the 58-year-old grandfather of Roshan and Dipika, said, “The fire started around 12.30 am when we were sleeping. We have no idea from where and how it started. We have only one room. We came out of shanty when the fire broke out to save our lives.”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the site and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of adult deceased, Rs 5 lakh in case of minor deceased, and Rs 25,000 to those whose shanties were gutted. Following the tragic incident, President Ram Nath Kovind said the news of casualties in the fire accident in Delhi was extremely sad.
The deceased have been identified as Babloo (32), Ranjit (25), Reshma (18), Priyanka (20), and Shahansha (10), of same family and two minors, Roshan (13) and his sister Dipika (9), of another family. Police said some people also received minor injuries in the incident.
According to Atul Garg, the Director of Delhi Fire Services (DFS), a call regarding the blaze near pillar number 12 of Gokulpuri village was received at 1.03 am by the fire department following which 13 fire-tenders were rushed to the spot.
“The fire was finally brought under control around 4 AM. Seven charred bodies were recovered from the site,” said Garg, adding that around 60 shanties were affected and 30 of them were completely gutted in the fire.
Police said an First Information Report (FIR) under sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at Gokulpuri Police Station and further sections will be added after the reports of fire department and FSL team.
Kejriwal visited the site of the incident and took stock of the situation and interacted with affected people. “When I woke up this morning, I came to know that a fire here killed seven people and many shanties were burnt. I am deeply saddened with this incident. I pray to God that the deceased rest in peace,” said Kejriwal.
He said he had issued orders for a swift release of the compensation amount. “I will try to release this (compensation) very soon, in one-two days, so that you get the money soon,” Kejriwal said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from northeast Delhi Manoj Tiwari also visited the site and demanded a judicial inquiry in the incident.
“This is a very sad and a heartrending incident. I urge the CM to immediately announce a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased and those who have been injured should be given the best treatment,” he said.