Mukherjee Nagar fire: Coaching centre CEO and owner held, released on bail

After a short circuit in the electricity board of the building led to a massive fire Thursday afternoon, several students were seen jumping from the second and third floor of the building, which houses several coaching centres and offices, while trying to escape. More than 50 students and staffers from nearby offices were admitted to hospitals and later discharged.

#LIVE | A fire broke out at a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar, and 11 fire tenders were rushed to spot.

Read more: https://t.co/j7uCKQ5ceA pic.twitter.com/G9zvfiD9pa

— Express Delhi-NCR (@ieDelhi) June 15, 2023

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court took suo motu cognizance of the fire in a building in Mukherjee Nagar that houses coaching centres. It has issued notice to Delhi Fire Services and the Delhi government. A status report has to be filed by the Delhi government in 2 weeks.

A case was lodged by the Delhi Police in connection with the fire under IPC sections 336 (act endangering life), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). Police said the section of conspiracy was added as the owners knew the “condition” of the building but didn’t install any fire safety equipment and “over-occupied” the rooms.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Northwest, Jitendra Meena said, “During the investigation, statements of around 12 students and four staff members were recorded. Accordingly, we arrested two persons.”

“Post inspection, it was found there were no adequate fire security measures, and no water in tank on the building’s roof, besides this the fire hydrants installed in the building seemed to be old and not in working condition and smoke indicators were also not installed in the building,” a senior police officer said, citing the FIR. The officer said the owners had no fire NOC or clearances to run the centre – a charge that the Delhi Fire Services corroborated.

“Mostly, coaching centres in Delhi aren’t regularised. The said building comes under DDA but it was built to house small shops and offices. However, over time, coaching centres and libraries were built here. The occupancy would have been very less if the building owner had followed guidelines,” said a fire official, adding that an inquiry is being conducted into the incident.

Police also summoned owners of building’s floors. As per the officials, each floor of the building has a different owner. “The first call came around 12.27 pm, which was late. We suspect the locals and coaching centre staffers tried dousing the fire themselves and wasted time in the process…” said another officer.