One dead after fire breaks out in four-storey building in northeast Delhi

New Delhi, May 20

A 45-year-old man was killed in a fire in a four-storey building in northeast Delhi’s Durgapuri Extension on Monday, the Delhi Fire Services said.

Jitender alias Chhotu worked in a garments company showroom on the building’s ground floor.

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a call about a fire in a Raymond showroom at 6 am and 22 water tenders were pressed into service, officials said.

A DFS officer said the fire was controlled by noon but it had spread to the entire building by then.

Divisional Fire Officer Ashok Jaiswal said a cooling operation was conducted after the fire was brought under control. One occupant of the building was missing. His body was later recovered, he said.

A police officer said the property is owned by one Padam Singh and his brother Sanjay Singh.

The Raymond showroom was being run from the ground floor and the first floor. The building had a godown on the second floor and living quarters on the third and fourth floors, he said.

When the fire broke out, all the residents, except Chhotu, came out of the building. He worked and lived in the showroom and godown, the officer said.

The body, recovered from the first floor, has been sent for post-mortem.

A short circuit on the ground floor could be the reason behind the fire. The actual reason can be ascertained after forensic inspection, the police said.

The police have registered a case against Padam Singh and Sanjay Singh under sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code at Jyoti Nagar police station.