Five people, including four minors, lost their lives in a blaze that engulfed an illegal factory in Begumpur area of Outer Delhi on Monday.
The fire broke out inside the two-room paper-plate making unit around 2.30 am, informed Delhi Fire Services (DFS).
The five deceased, including factory owner Pintu Shah’s five-year-old son Niranjan and four of his relatives, suffocated to death, police said.
The other deceased have been identified as Nilesh (11), Shivam (15), Shravan Kumar (17) and Nitin (26) who, police said, hailed from Bihar.
Pintu Shah, who owned the factory, was sleeping in a nearby rented accommodation.
There were, reportedly, 18 workers in the factory and it seems that one of them left an un-stubbed cigarette behind. Preliminary investigations confirmed that the fire was triggered by an un-stubbed cigarette followed by explosion from two gas cylinders.
A case under Section 304A (causing death due to negligence) has been registered in this regard, police officials said.
Meanwhile, family members of those killed have reportedly told the police to investigate the role of one Raja, an employee of Pintu, who had threatened him of dire consequences during some fallout.
All five died of suffocation because of the smoke,” said a fire official. It was Dharamveer, the brother-in-law of Pintu, who noticed the fire that was spreading fast. Pintu, his wife and sister Rani rushed inside as they realized that the children were trapped in the fire. They had to put brakes as the metal gate installed at the entry had electric current flowing into it as the wire had snapped.
Pintu shouted for help and he was soon joined by his neighbours Giriraj and Raju, who climbed on the roof and tried to bring the flames.
Eight fire tenders were pressed into service. The factory had a stockpile of paper-plates and other easily combustible raw combustible material, the fire spread very fast. The flames were completely doused by 5.50 am