NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday met the families of the victims of the Palam fire tragedy, in which nine people lost their lives, and expressed her condolences.
Gupta stated that the horrific fire accident in Palam, resulting in the untimely demise of innocent citizens, is extremely distressing and heart-wrenching. “Today, I met with the grieving families, expressed my deepest condolences, and offered them solace.
The pain of losing loved ones is unbearable, something that cannot be expressed in words. The Delhi government stands in full sensitivity with the affected families during this difficult time. We are fully committed to providing them every possible assistance, relief, and support,” the Chief Minister said.
Nine people were killed and three others injured on March 18 after a fire broke out in a four-storey building in southwest Delhi’s Palam area. The fire had broken out in a four-storey building situated at WZ-124A, Ram Chowk Market. The basement, ground floor, and first floor housed a cloth and cosmetic showroom owned by Kashyap (market pradhan), while his family resided on the second and third floors.
On March 18, CM said that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident. Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood on Monday stated that the initial report of the fire department said that “highly inflammable” materials were stored in the basement. He accused the AAP of indulging in a “blame game” and “vulture politics” over the incident, while also holding the previous government responsible for failing to modernise fire services.
“The initial fire report in the Palam incident states that only a single staircase, from ground to terrace floor, was present, which was not accessible from outside the building,” Sood said in the Delhi Assembly. He added that materials such as garments, cosmetics, thinner, perfumes, and nail polish—classified as highly inflammable—were stored in the basement.
NHRC issues notice to Delhi govt, police chief
The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday said it has issued a notice to the Delhi government and the city’s police chief over the death of nine members of a family in a fire incident in Palam area earlier this month, and sought a detailed report within two weeks. The Commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights.