CM announced compensation for kin of dead. (Praveen Khanna)“Mummy, papa aag lag gayi yahan pe, please call fire brigade, we are all trapped.” This was the last call 26-year-old Tania Bhushan made to her parents, minutes before a massive fire killed her and 26 others at a commercial building in Delhi’s Mundka. On Saturday morning, families of those feared dead gathered at Sanjay Gandhi hospital. Of the 27 victims, bodies of only eight had been identified by evening.
“The bodies are highly charred. It’s not easy to identify them,” said Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg.
Tania’s family said she worked as the sales head at the office. “She was ambitious, we were all very proud of her. My bacchi… we couldn’t save her. We stood for hours outside the building. We were told that she helped others leave. She was a caring person. What am I going to do without her? She was my only girl,” said Rajni, her mother. Tania’s last call was made to her family around 4.40 pm. After that, her phone was switched off.
Around 4 pm Friday, Rajesh (40) received a call from his daughter, Madhu (22), who worked at the office with her cousins, Poonam and Preeti. The three are among those feared dead. “A fire has broken out here. Please mujhe bacha lo, jaldi aao,” she said over the phone. Rajesh promised to save her and reached the spot in 15 minutes.
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“I saw people holding ropes and jumping from the building. I was hoping Madhu and her cousins would also find their way. We called them but their phones were switched off. We waited for hours. Her voice still rings in my ears. We were looking for a boy for Madhu. All my dreams have been shattered. My brother too lost his daughters. We are still hoping for a miracle but we are scared… everyone died in there,” said Rajesh.
Police said a total of 14 PCR calls were made from 4.40 pm to 5.10 pm — seven were from victims trapped inside.
Families were called to the mortuary in groups to examine pieces of jewellery and clothes. Many of the victims, mostly women, were identified because of the rings and bracelets.
Yash Pal, a businessman, waited in line for the body of his wife, Mohini (42). “They showed me several bodies. I then saw a gold kada I recognised. I gifted it to Mohini this year. I never thought I would see it on her charred body. Our son keeps asking for his mother. Our relatives are coming from Bihar now, they don’t know about the death yet.”
Sitting in a corner, Pooja (27) waited to identify her brother Vishal’s (24) body. He worked in the assembling unit at the office.
“Vishal was running the house. They didn’t pay him much but we were dependent on his job because my father has a disability. On Friday, when he didn’t return our calls, we asked around and then saw the news. He was wearing a kada and a ring — that’s all we could see today. He was young and wanted to do so many things. Everything is lost now. My mother still doesn’t know about the death,” she said.
Bhaskar (22) and his mother Sunita waited at the mortuary for hours but couldn’t identify Geeta’s (40) body. Geeta was a widow and lived at Bhaskar’s house in Mundka as a tenant.
“She and her husband were our tenants. She lost her husband four years ago and lived alone. We were like family — she was like my aunt and has known me since I was a child. We received a call last night about the fire. I stood there for hours. Today, we have been looking at bodies but none of them is hers. She never had any children and didn’t speak much about her family in Bihar. We are ready to perform her final rites but don’t know where her body is,” said Bhaskar.
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