Anaj Mandi fire: Owners shut their factories in Filmistan area due to police fear

Scores of factory owners in Delhi's Filmistan at Rani Jhansi Road have shut down their shops due to the fear of sealing and police investigation after a massive fire broke out in the area which claimed 43 lives.

Many labourers employed in the clothing sector in the area have left overnight and are looking for a job elsewhere.

"Most of the labourers have left because of the fear of police. Nothing illegal was happening here. Most of them were daily wage labourers,' said Atul Jain, a trader from Delhi while speaking to ANI.

"Though police has not conducted any investigation but still they were afraid of the cops. They have fled the place after the fire incident," said another trader.

On Sunday morning, a fire broke out in an illegal factory of a four-storey building located in the congested Anaj Mandi area in Delhi, killing 43 people.

Later, Delhi Police arrested the building's owner Rehan and its manager Furkan in connection with the fire. Police and fire department officials have said most people died for suffocation.

A Delhi court on Monday sent the owner and manager of the factory in Filmistan's Anaj Mandi area to 14-day police custody.

Forty-three people lost their lives in a massive fire incident and the court noted that the factories operated at the property without clearance from authorities.