Bawana fire: Amid political blame game, Congress demands judicial probe

The probe has been transferred to crime branch from the district police

A day after the Bawana fire tragedy, a political blame game erupted, which played out in tweets, videos and media statements, as the aggrieved families struggled to come to terms with their losses.

Soni's mother does not agree with officials who hold that 17 people were killed in the blaze that ravaged the firecracker plant yesterday. She is convinced that 18 died. For the dead, she said, included her unborn grandchild.

The family of 21-year-old Soni was looking forward to the birth of her first child. Instead, it was asked to identify the body of the pregnant factory worker who died in the fire that gutted a unit producing soundless crackers in Bawana.

"In the fire yesterday, 18 lives were lost, including that of my grandchild. We were looking forward to the birth of Soni's child but everything has been lost," Soni's mother, a factory worker in another unit, said between sobs as she waited outside the mortuary of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital.

Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal met the families of those killed in the fire at the BR Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini.

Till now, 14 of the deceased have been identified. The bodies of two men and one woman are yet to be identified.

As Soni's and other affected families collected the bodies of their loved ones, the ruling AAP and the BJP engaged in a war of words while the Congress demanded a judicial probe.

By the evening, the police said the probe has been transferred to the Crime Branch from the district police as it "requires extensive investigation and a proper detailed follow-ups".

Earlier on , Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal retweeted a video clip in which North MCD mayor Preeti Agarwal is purportedly telling her aide, during her visit to the accident site last night, that she cannot comment on the licensing aspect as it comes under the civic body's jurisdiction.

Agarwal, however, claimed the video that was "being made viral" was "fake" and sought apology from the chief minister.

"Arvind Kejriwal by retweeting the video has resorted to dirty politics and he should apologise for that," she said and also posted on her Twitter handle.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari backed Agarwal. "What could have been more worse than CM Arvind Kejriwal retweeting an untruthful video at a time when 17 people have died in a tragedy," he tweeted.

AAP Delhi unit chief and Labour Minister Gopal Rai held a press conference at the party office where he said the labour department will probe the case as well.

"The MCD issues licenses. The Delhi government issues licenses too. The investigation is underway, only the probe will reveal who was responsible for it - MCD or Delhi government's officers."

Senior BJP leader and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi also held a press conference and defended the mayor, claiming, "She was only talking about the NDMC resolution abolishing factory licenses that was pending. The Delhi government is sitting over the resolution of 2015."

AAP's Delhi unit's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj hit back at the BJP, saying the MCD (which is ruled by the BJP) is responsible for giving permission for constructions.

"It is quite audible that she is whispering in the ears of her aides that 'we will not speak on this because we have given license to this factory. This itself is extra-judicial confession of the MCD mayor'."

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken visited the site on Sunday and demanded a judicial probe. He also questioned the role of the Delhi government agencies and said they should be probed.

"We demand a judicial probe. The role of Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) and the pollution department cannot be investigated in a magisterial inquiry," he told reporters at the site.

Police have arrested 49-year-old Manoj Jain, who was running the factory, and had taken it on rent from January 1.

G C Mishra, Director, Delhi Fire Services, said electric cables run haywire in the area where the blaze occurred.

"An inquiry is being conducted. I will not offer any technical comment on the cause of fire. The electric cables were running haywire. The investigating agencies and forensic teams might look into it," he said.

The fire department will also be checking other factories in the industrial area for fire safety measures, he added.

Mishra said his officials had not been able to confirm, after looking into the records, if an NoC had been issued to the premises.

Meanwhile, the DSIIDC, in its preliminary report, said the premises was being used to carry out packing and storage of fire crackers without obtaining due clearances.

"Though the final reason (for the fire) will be ascertained following a complete inquiry, it has been informed that the fire was reported due to explosion of certain types of explosives/fire crackers being packed at the site," it said.