Ghaziabad: A 26-year-old woman succumbed to her burn injuries during treatment on Saturday, raising the death toll in the fire incident at a five-storeyed residential building in Khoda to three, officials said.
The deceased, Neetu, died at Delhi’s GTB hospital where she had been admitted on March 3. Her father Rajendra Kumar, 45, and mother Meena Devi, 42, also succumbed at two different hospitals in Delhi on the night of March 3, officials added.
The three were among the 150 people rescued from the ground floor and four upper floors of the building. A total of 22 injured people were rushed to hospitals for treatment.
“One injured person is still undergoing treatment, while others have been discharged. So far, none of the affected families have come forward to file a complaint about the incident. So, the police have taken cognisance of the incident and are in the process of registering an FIR against those responsible. The FIR will soon be filed under BNS section for causing death by negligence,” Abhishek Srivastava, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of the Indirapuram circle, told HT.
Police and Nagar Palika officials, meanwhile, said they have initiated inquiries into the incident.
Chief fire officer (CFO) Rahul Pal told HT on Saturday: “The building lacks map layouts and a no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department. It has only a single staircase instead of the required multiple exits. We are issuing a notice to the concerned parties to provide the required documents and approvals,” Pal said, adding that if no reply is received, they have the power to file a case in court.
According to officials, Khoda has about 45,000 households, which include multi-storeyed buildings.
The CFO added that currently, only 10-15 buildings in Khoda, located on the main road near NH-9, have obtained fire NOCs. “Other than these, we have not issued any fire NOC to any buildings in Khoda,” Pal said.
Shailendra Kumar Singh, officiating executive officer of the Khoda Nagar Palika, said an inquiry into the incident is underway and a report is being prepared. “The building has no map layout, and we issued no NOC. No house tax is levied either. Furthermore, there is no completion certificate for the building, which has 45 flats. It is not within the jurisdiction of the Ghaziabad Development Authority, map layouts must be passed by the Khoda Nagar Palika under the Uttar Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1916. Currently, the Palika board has not passed/approved the bylaws, so most buildings operate without map layouts. An inquiry is underway, and a report will soon be prepared,” Singh told HT.
Locals residents in Khoda said the building was constructed in 2019, and flats were sold to families. “Even registries were done. The flats ranged anywhere between ₹15-30 lakhs. The family that suffered casualties lived on the first floor. Occupants of all the flats have moved to other locations after the fire,” Anil Kumar, a local resident, told HT.