Police also found that the Goel brothers, who ran the company Cofe Impex Private Limited where the fire started, were shifting operations to a new, bigger office in Noida. The duo have been arrested as well.
“The building didn't have a fire NOC (no objection certificate) and clearance from the MCD. It seems the entire building was illegal,” Delhi Fire Services Chief, Atul Garg said.
Families of those trapped first started receiving distress calls around 4.45 pm, around the same time locals in the area spotted plumes of smoke, and then the flames engulfed the building.
While police had initially said four unidentified men were involved in the 3.30 am robbery, the footage shows twice as many. No arrest has been made so far.
The Haryana Police, on the other hand, mentioned in a DD entry that Delhi Police showed all legal documents and took Bagga’s custody after taking consent from the Punjab Police.
The journey to take Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga to Punjab was cut short with police in Haryana intercepting the Punjab Police convoy, the Delhi Police filing an FIR against Punjab personnel for abducting Bagga, and eventually managing to bring him back from Kurukshetra to the national capital.
A senior officer with the Delhi police said that before arresting Tajinder Bagga from his Delhi residence, the Punjab police did not inform the local cops.
Police found during their investigation that a day before the incident, he parked his bike near the victim’s residence and then took the Metro from Civil Lines station. This was confirmed via CCTV footage.
An officer from the Delhi Police Headquarters said the investigation officer, after discussing the matter with senior officials, sent the notice under CrPC Section 41A to Surya on WhatsApp.
As per police data this year, till April 20, a total of 3,063 cases of snatching were reported as compared to 2,899 in the same period last year; 890 robbery incidents took place this year as compared to 735 last year.
The Pakistani “Major” was among nine persons identified by the two accused, Zeeshan Qamar (28), a resident of Allahabad in UP, and Osama alias Sami (22), a resident of Jamia Nagar in Delhi, the chargesheet claims.
This is the second FIR filed since the violence. An earlier FIR was registered at Jahangirpuri police station in connection with the communal flare-up between two communities.
Delhi Police commissioner Rakesh Asthana denied the allegation that the violence erupted after saffron flags were installed at a mosque in the area. “A minor argument led to the violence in the Jahangirpuri area. The theory of saffron flags being installed at a mosque is not true,” said Asthana.
Police said initial investigation has revealed that one of the accused, who works at a mobile phone repair shop, is the main conspirator and allegedly has a criminal record.
Special commissioner of police (law and order of northern zone) Dependra Pathak said they have arrested 14 people, of which a few have criminal backgrounds.
A senior police officer said nine people, including eight police personnel and a local resident, were injured and they all are recuperating at the Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital.
Jahangirpuri’s block B and C, where the communal clashes took place, is home to a working class population including fish sellers, mobile repair shops and clothes retailers.
This is the first major communal flare-up in the national capital since the February 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, which left 53 people dead and many more injured.