3 labourers killed in fire at Anand Vihar, Delhi CM announces Rs 10 lakh compensation for kin

On Tuesday afternoon, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Vishwas Nagar MLA O P Sharma visited the site and spoke to the victims’ families present there. “My deepest condolences to all the affected families. A poor family struggles to build a home, and such tragedies completely shatter their spirit. I pray for the peace of the departed souls and for strength to the bereaved families. While we cannot undo their loss, the Delhi government will extend all possible support to them. Families of the deceased will receive Rs 10 lakh each as financial assistance from the government,” said CM Gupta in a statement to the media.

A Delhi Fire Service (DFS) official said a call regarding the fire was received at 2.42 am, and three fire tenders were pressed into service, which doused the blaze in half an hour.

According to police, Shyam was the first to notice that the tent was on fire. “The survivor, Nitin, told us that the four men had a few drinks before going to sleep. Around 2 am, Nitin was woken up by Shyam alerting him about the fire… while Shyam tried to open the lock on the makeshift door of the tent, Nitin managed to scale up the wall against which the tent was propped up and jump to the other side… the others had also woken up by then but were unable to get out,” said a police officer.

Police said while Shyam’s body was found near the door, Kanta and Jaggi’s charred bodies were found near the compound wall.

Police said the cause of the fire, in which a gas cylinder also burst, is being probed. They said the men used to keep a small lamp lit with fuel on a cooler stand inside the tent, and locked the temporary gate. Initial reports suggest that the blaze originated from some material near the lamp catching fire and spreading quickly.

Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons under BNS section 106(1) (causing death by negligence). DCP (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam told the media that the cause of death of the three victims seemed to be asphyxiation.

Police said the bodies had been shifted to the Sabzi Mandi mortuary.

All three deceased were residents of Uttar Pradesh’s Banda and Auraiya districts.

Suman (30), the brothers’ sister, was informed of the incident at 6 am. “Kanta’s daughter was engaged in December, and he was looking forward to her wedding. It was supposed to happen after Diwali this year,” she told The Indian Express.