Mundka fire: NHRC calls for report from Delhi govt in two weeks

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of the massive fire in a four-storey building in Delhi's Mundka in which as many as 27 people died.

In a statement, the NHRC said it has issued a notice to the Delhi government and asked for a report in two weeks.

"The Commission has issued notice to the Chief Secretary, Government of NCT of Delhi to submit a report to the Commission within two weeks including action taken against the responsible authorities/ officers, fixing the culpability and status of disbursement of the relief/ rehabilitation granted by the government, if any," read the statement.

"Issuing the notice, the Commission has observed that going by the contents of media reports, this appears to be the worst case of gross violation of human rights of the victims due to utter apathy and complete dereliction of statutory duties of public servants in the National capital of Delhi causing loss of valuable lives due to fire," it added.

Besdies, the NHRC has also decided to send its team immediately to conduct an on the spot investigation.

Earlier in the day, the owner of a building was arrested, two days after the incident, police said.

"We received information that Manish Lakra was going towards Haridwar in Uttarakhand. We laid a trap and nabbed him from Ghevra Mod," Sameer Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer), said.

Lakra used to live on the fourth floor of the commercial building, and he managed to escape to the adjacent building along with his family members when the fire broke out, the police said.

Apart from Lakra, two company owners have also been arrested, said the DCP.

Regarding the casualties, the DCP said 27 people have died and eight have been identified so far. DNA samples have been collected and identification process is underway, he added. Besides, he informed that 27 people are still missing, out of which 21 are female and 7 are male.