Pune Sadashiv Peth fire | ‘No fire safety measures, no system to alert students’: Hosteler slams negligence

“There were a total of 48 girls staying in the building who were successfully evacuated by 2 am through the emergency door,” he said.

When asked about Kulkarni, Shekhar said he was unable to contact him as he was stuck and busy helping girls evacuate.

Bhagyashree, a student and hostel resident, who dialed the emergency number, said that there was no system in place to alert students about the fire incident. She was among the last ten girls to be evacuated. “There were no safety measures and no hostel warden present. Many girls use LPG cylinders, and if the fire had reached the fourth and fifth floors, the situation might have been different,” she added.

Bhagyashree demanded action against institute authorities who were negligent, including the hostel guard who was absent during the incident.

Dhirendra Pathak, a watchman from Nishita Tower which is located in front of the building, said that two boys from his building had alerted the watchman of the fire, but he ran out of the building due to fear.

“Rahul sir used to stay on the first floor of the building in the corner room. His body was recovered by the medical team around 2:30 am after the fire was brought under control,” Pathak added.

Sameer Shah, the brother-in-law of Nilay Mehta, owner of the institute and building, expressed his shock and said that he had come down from Nashik to handle the situation. He said he was mentally exhausted dealing with the situation, but was thankful that all the students were evacuated on time.