BENGALURU: Two labourers, including one who doubled up as a moulvi, were charred to death after an accidental fire broke out in a furniture making unit located in a residential building at Old Guddadahalli on Mysore Road on Friday. Goods worth a few lakhs were gutted and traffic was thrown out of gear for a while around the area.
The deceased are Mehatab (27), a native of New Delhi, and Abdul Hafiz (35) of Shivamogga who was also a moulvi.
Ten members of a joint family, including four children and three women, were rescued by firemen.
The building owner Ibrahim Kalimullah (41), who went to rescue the workers, sustained burns.
Fire and Rescue Department officials said the incident took place around 1pm. Two children and a woman who were stuck on the top-most floor of the building were rescued by breaking the roof tiles. The house is located in Vinayaka Layout in Old Guddadahalli.
The furniture unit on the ground floor had stocks of foam and other materials used to make chairs. The Arabia Ziya-ul-Kuran madrasa is on the first floor while two families live on the second and third floors.
Residents, who noticed the fire, alerted the fire service department.
Though the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, a fire services officer said that some adhesive solution used in the making of chairs may have caused the mishap. Due to the fire, an LPG cylinder on the second floor exploded and the fire spread to the upper floors immediately.
Mehatab, who was in the factory, was charred to death while Hafiz suffocated to death in the toilet. Police are not ruling out an electrical short circuit that may have caused the fire. There were no fire safety measures on the premises.
A senior police officer said preliminary investigations revealed that the building owner had violated building and safety norms and that the factory was being run illegally. “We will arrest him after he recovers from the injuries. We have also asked BBMP officials to submit a report on the permission granted to build a four-storey building on a small site. He might have also violated BBMP norms,” said J J Nagar police who are investigating the case.
'Thank God, it was Friday'
Had it not been a Friday, the incident would have claimed more lives.
“About 30 children used to come to the madarasa for classes every evening. Since it was a Friday, there was no class and hence children did not come,” said Altaf Pasha, a neighbour.
There are a few other factories in this residential area and there is hardly any space to escape in case of an accident. Most buildings lack proper passage and roads are so narrow that even fire tenders can’t enter the area. “BBMP officials and police must take action against these illegal factories which cause deaths of residents and children in the area,” said activist Hussain.
At the time of incident, Abdul Hafiz, who is also a moulvi, had gone to attend nature’s call. He had to go to a nearby Masjid for namaz and his friends were waiting for him to come out,” said his elder brother Mohammed Athiullah.
Mehatab, a labourer, had come to the city six years ago. His wife lives in Delhi along with their son.