Delhi: The Office building catching fire ‘did not have MCD clearance’

27 people died inside a four-story commercial building near the Mundka Metro station in Delhi.

Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg stated the structure lacked a no-objection certificate from the fire department, but conceded the department took too long to respond due to traffic congestion.

According to call logs, police got the first report at 4.40 p.m.

One police vehicle arrived at the scene within seven minutes, followed by the Mundka station house officer at 4.48 p.m.

DCP Sameer Sharma said, “We arrived within 5 to 10 minutes after receiving the first police control room contact.”

“It seems the entire building was illegal,” Garg said.

“Most of the bodies were recovered from the second floor. We searched the third floor today and now the rescue operation is over,” he added.

He told, “We sent the first fire tender at around 4.50pm and others got stuck in a traffic jam. In total, we sent 40 fire tenders.”

The number of people trapped inside was not disclosed to us, Gard said.

The fire started on the first floor and quickly spread to the other floors.

People were locked inside, as we discovered. WiFi routers, CCTV cameras, and other devices were stored in this office area.

“We requested cranes and ambulances,” he stated.

Police have now arrested the company’s owners, Harish Goel and Varun Goel.