Mundka fire tragedy: Delhi court sends building owners to 1-day police remand

In a key development in connection with the Mundka fire tragedy which claimed 27 lives, Delhi's Tis Hazari Court has granted one day police custody of the accused and owners of the complex Manish Lakra, Harish Goyal and Varun Goyal. This comes a day after the absconding owner - Manish Lakra - was sent to two days of Police custody. Lakra was detained after multiple raids in Delhi and Haryana, carried out by the dedicated team of Outer District under the close supervision of the DCP/Outer District. 

On May 14, the Delhi police had arrested company owners Harish Goel and Varun Goel, who owned a firm on the first floor of the building and manufactured CCTV cameras and Wi-Fi routers. An FIR was registered under sections IPC 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide),120 (concealing design to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

Mundka fire tragedy

In the evening hours of May 13, a massive fire engulfed a four-storey building in west Delhi claiming the lives of 27 people. The fire was brought under control after more than seven hours and the focus is now on rescue operations. Also, 12 people who suffered injuries were taken to the Sanjay Gandhi hospital for further treatment. 

As per the reports, more than 70 people were in the building when the fire broke out on the first floor and engulfed the entire building soon after. Police personnel said a few people were rescued by breaking the windows and using ropes. So far, 27 bodies have been recovered and 25 have been identified while 29 people are reported to be missing. 

Earlier on May 14, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with Deputy CM Manish Sisodia arrived at the spot to learn about the rescue operations and ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.  Delhi CM Kejriwal announced Rs 10 lakh compensation to families who lost their loved ones to fire and Rs 50,000 compensation to those who have sustained injuries.