Bawana factory fire: Owner sent to 5-day police custody

New Delhi: A Delhi court here on Wednesday sent the owner of the firecracker factory in Bawana, which caught fire and claimed 17 lives, to five-day police custody.

According to police, the accused Manoj Jain told them during interrogation that he, and his associate Lalit Goyal, used to procure raw material for the factory from various location across various states, including Haridwar in Uttar Pradesh. It was also found that these material were bought without a license.

The investigating officer sought five-day custody so as to arrest the co-accused and find out the sources from whom the material was bought.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday met the kin of the victims of the fire and handed them compensation cheques.

"The Chief Minister distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to families of 17 people, ," an government official said.

The family of one of the deceased Baby Devi expressed their gratitude to the Delhi government.