‘We are homeless now’: 500 huts gutted as massive fire breaks out at JJ cluster in Rohini, 1 killed

The deceased has been identified as Munna Khan (32). Along with Rajesh (30), who also lived in the slum cluster, he was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital after both of them suffered burn injuries. However, Munna was declared dead. Rajesh is recuperating at the hospital, and his condition is reported to be critical.

Munna’s sister, Fareeda, said that the blaze broke out suddenly and spread rapidly among the huts. “There were some 700-800 people living here…I got to know about the fire at 11 pm after the fire had already spread… I don’t know how it started. I think this was deliberately done… otherwise it would not have spread so fast,” she claimed, adding that she and her family had lived in the area for almost 15 years.

“There were at least 900 shacks here and all of them were damaged in the fire,” she said.

Siraj too claimed that the incident did not seem like an accident. “People started shouting… They had to tear down their houses and climb over walls to escape. Even the main road was in harm’s way… so there was no other option except breaking walls to escape,” he said.

He further added that every household in the area owned small gas cylinders which were used to make food. “We have lost everything. We’re homeless now,” said Siraj.

Rafiq, who was Rajesh’s neighbour, said that noises shook him out of slumber around 11:15 pm. “I couldn’t wake anyone up so I ran for my life. I tried waking up Rakesh too but nobody heard me…I later saw him come out of the burning house… he’s been taken to Safdarjung now,” he said.

According to the police, the blaze is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit in one of the huts, which later spread to other houses. However, a probe has been launched to ascertain what exactly caused the incident.

In a similar fire incident at another JJ cluster in Rohini, at least two toddlers died and a man was injured in April. Around 800 huts were gutted at the time.

In March, at least 30 huts, an ice cream factory, and a motor accessories shop burned down after a fire broke out in a market in the Dwarka Mor area.

In another incident in March, three men, including two brothers, were killed in East Delhi’s Anand Vihar after fire engulfed the tent they were sleeping in. The probe that followed suggested that the blaze originated from some material near a lamp, which caught fire and spread quickly.