The owner of the building in west Delhi, where a massive fire broke out, has been arrested on Sunday morning, The Indian Express reported. Manish Lakra was arrested after multiple raids in Delhi and Haryana.
On Friday, 27 people died and 40 were injured after the fire erupted in a four-storey commercial building near Mundka metro station in the national capital. Two brothers – Harish Goel and Varun Goel – had occupied three floors of the building on rent for their company that manufactured close-circuit television cameras and WiFi routers, the police said.
Lakra, who lived on the top floor with his family, escaped after the blaze. Authorities said that the building did not have a fire clearance and had only one exit route, leading to the high casualties.
Lakra ran a real estate office from the ground floor. “They [the Goel brothers] paid Rs 1.2 lakh as rent, via cash, to the owner, his wife and mother,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express.
On Saturday, the Goel brothers were arrested and charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 120 (concealing design to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the fire. He had visited the site with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
“The families of the deceased [persons] will be given a compensation of Rs 10 lakh,” Kejriwal had said. “While the injured will be given Rs 50,000.”
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