Mundka fire: For families of those still missing, an endless wait

Two sisters still hope their mother will return and cook them dinner.

A husband does not know if his wife is alive or dead.

Family members of many feared dead in the fire which broke out at a four-storey building in Mundka are yet to find closure. This is because four days later, they are yet to receive the remains of their loved ones pending a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Of 27, eight bodies have been identified so far.

Bharti Devi (42) was working in the canteen of the CCTV and router manufacturing company earning Rs 5,000-7,000 per month for the past two years. Her son Suraj, in his early 20s, spent the day pleading with officers at Mundka police station to expedite his mother’s forensic report. “They (authorities) say that it will take 10-15 days. I work at AIIMS and I know reports can be expedited. We can get peace of mind only after we conduct her final rites. How can we spend days without any answers?” Suraj said.

Madhu Devi (29) was working as a packer earning Rs 5,000-6,000 and had been employed for the past three years. A mother of two girls, she had promised to come home for dinner.

Her nephew, Vikram (20), said Madhu’s phone was confiscated by her employers and during lunch time, when she was allowed access to it, she briefly spoke to her daughters, who said they wanted to eat Maggi noodles. “She promised them she will come back home and cook a proper dinner. My grandmother has given her sample for the DNA test. All we can do is wait,” he said.

For Soni Kumari’s (35) husband Manoj Thakur (39), their last call still haunts him. “She called me crying and said bahut bhayanak aag lagi hai (it is a horrible fire). She said that two women had escaped with the help of a rope. She said she was trying to survive,” Thakur said.

Soni has been working at the office for the past two years earning Rs 6,500. She had just got a raise of Rs 1,000 two months ago. The family has deposited blood samples in hopes of getting back the body. “The women who escaped say the rope she tried to use burnt off, that she fell down. If she fell down what happened to the body?” Thakur said.

At Sanjay Gandhi hospital’s mortuary, the family members of Narender (26) waited in hopes of receiving a DNA test report. His job at the office, where he worked for two years, involved assembling various parts used in CCTV cameras. His family said they wanted him to get married. But he wanted to make himself financially secure first considering he was not paid for the last two months, they claimed.

His brother Gopal (26) is scared of leaving the mortuary: “What if he is suddenly identified and we are not here to claim the body? There are so many questions that no one is willing to answer. How can we have peace of mind sitting at home? So, we would rather sit at the mortuary instead waiting for answers.”

Outside the charred remains of the building stood family members of Parveen Kumar (33). They managed to spot his bike, now broken, at the entrance. He used to work in the marketing section and is the father of three children, including twins.

His relative Sandeep said, “We run from pillar to post every day hoping for news of the DNA test report. They promised to hand his body every day and then they ask us for more time.”