NEW DELHI: After the arrest of the owner of the building that caught fire in Anaj Mandi killing 43, police on Wednesday held his brother-in-law, who partially owned the property, a senior officer said.
On the day of the incident, police had arrested Mohammad Rehan and Mohammad Furkan – building’s owner and his manager — in connection with the case which is being investigated by the Crime Branch.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Rajesh Deo said that after these accused were interrogated at length, Rehan’s brother-in-law Suhail under the same Indian Penal Code’s (IPC’s) Sections of 285 (negligence relating to fire) and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
Deo said that search operations for the third owner, Imran, who is Rehan’s cousin, were on. “We have conducted raids at possible hideouts of Imran,” Deo said.
Meanwhile, the police in collaboration with a private agency have completed the 3D scanning of the building to reconstruct the scene. The report based on this will be submitted to court.
Earlier in the day, a team of BSES and Central Forensic Science Laboratory visited the site. The forensic experts have established that a short circuit in a sub-meter on the second floor was the cause of the massive blaze at the five-storey building. In the building that caught fire on Sunday, 43 people lost their lives.
Three of them have been identified as the owners of the several factory units that were being run illegally inside the residential building.
By Wednesday, the post-mortem of all the victims was done and their bodies had been handed over to their families. On Thursday, the debris in the building will be removed after a Nation Disaster Relief Force team visits.