NEW DELHI: Veer Pal, 24, along with his close friends and brother-in-law reached the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital mortuary on Sunday, in hope to find his sister, Asha (30) in the charred remains. Pal’s search for his sister continued since the news of the fire. He has been running to the police station and hospital, but got no response. “We reached the morgue as early as possible so that we could get a chance for another round of identification, but the hospital authorities did not allow us. My mother gave her DNA sample this morning. We were told that the DNA reports will come after three days,” said Pal.
He said that he checked many body bags but got no hold which could lead him to his sister. “I just thought I may check once again today. A neighbour asked her to join the factory and she was working for Rs 6,000. Who knew, she’d never come back,” said Pal, a resident of Pravesh Nagar, Mubarakpur.
The police said that at least 24 of those killed were women, who used to come from nearby neighbourhoods including Bhagya Vihar and Pravesh Nagar, among others. Gayatri Devi, mother of 20-year-old Pooja, who is in the missing list, said that she has given her DNA sample and hopes to at least find her daughter’s last remains.
“She wore a palazzo and a top to work and two silver-coloured bangles in her hand. We looked amidst so many bodies, but couldn’t find any clue of her. She was the brightest among the three children. She was a data entry operator and was also pursuing her graduation. She was the hope of the family, which has been lost forever,” said Devi, who originally hails from Bihar and has been living in Bhagya Vihar for the past 10 years.
The hospital authorities on Sunday said that they have sent the DNA samples of the relatives to the forensic laboratory and the reports are expected within 4-5 days or a maximum of 7 days. “We are yet to take samples of some of the relatives who are yet to come down from Bihar and other places,” said Dr S K Arora, medical superintendent (MS) of the hospital.
Meanwhile, another resident from the area, Mona alias Sweety (32) has been missing while her husband Manoj Kumar alleged that the authorities are hiding the number of people killed. Over 150 people worked on each of the two floors of the building that caught fire, while over 50 jumped off and some others were rescued, where did the other employees go.
“I can’t believe this. I spoke to my wife around 12-1pm when everything was okay. Then she called me around 4.15 pm to tell me about the incident but I could not hear anything because of the noise,” he said.
L-G gives nod to magisterial probe
Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has approved a magisterial inquiry into the Mundka building fire and it will be completed within six weeks, officials said on Sunday. District magistrate (West) will probe lapses on the part of the departments concerned and agencies, recommend action against the erring officials and fix responsibility, they said. The DM will also suggest remedial measures to prevent such tragedies in future, the officials said.
Noida firefighters to hold more mock drills
Firefighters in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar have been put on alert and special awareness campaigns are being held in residential areas, markets, offices and schools in the wake of the Mundka fire blaze, officials said on Sunday. “In view of the massive fire that broke out in a CCTV factory in Delhi, Commissioner of Police, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Alok Singh has directed the fire officials to be alert to deal with any situation,” a police spokesperson said.