Mundka Fire: Building Owner Manish Lakra, 2 Others Sent to 1-Day Police Custody

Manish Lakra, the owner of the building in Mundka that was gutted in a massive fire on 13 May, along with the owners of a company in the same multistorey structure – Harish Goel and Varun Goel – were on Tuesday, 17 May, sent to one-day police custody by a city court, an official said.

(Photo: PTI)

Manish Lakra, the owner of the building in Mundka that was gutted in a massive fire on 13 May, along with the owners of a company in the same multistorey structure – Harish Goel and Varun Goel – were on Tuesday, 17 May sent to one-day police custody by a city court, an official said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sameer Sharma said their custody was of vital importance.

"We need to take blood samples of Goyal brothers. We also need to know about the background and company details," the DCP said.

He further said that for Manish Lakra, the police need to verify all documents pertaining to the building. "We also need to do cross-examination," the senior official said.

What Had Happened?

Twenty-seven people perished on 13 May in one of the deadliest tragedies that the national capital has seen in recent years.

A massive fire gutted a multistorey building located near a metro station, charring 27 people to death and wounding 12 others in west Delhi's Mundka area. Both Harish Goel and Varun Goel were arrested a day after the incident but the owner of the building, Manish Lakra, was absconding to avoid his arrest.

Subsequently, a police team was constituted, which tracked down his locations and Lakra was arrested from Ghevra Mod in west Delhi, which is near the Haryana-Delhi border, on 15 May.

During preliminary enquiry, it was revealed that Lakra was present at his residence on the top floor at the time of the incident.

"When the fire broke out, Lakra was at his residence on the top floor and when he sensed that smoke was coming from the floors below, he immediately left everything and rushed out of the building with his wife, mother and two kids," DCP Sameer Sharma said.

Lakra had switched off and destroyed his mobile phone so that he could not be located. "However, we pressurised his friends and family members which ultimately led to the revelation of his location," the DCP said.

"When we arrested him, he was trying to flee to Haridwar," the police officer said, adding, he had also collected money from one of his friends while he was absconding.