Bawana fire: Crime Branch grills factory owner, associate

New Delhi: The Crime Branch of Delhi Police on Sunday grilled the main accused and his associate in the case where 17 persons died after a fire took place inside the factory in Bawana area of Rohini district.

Police sources told Millennium Post that the factory owner Manoj Jain and his partner Lalit Goel were questioned separately about the case for several hours.

Sources claimed that during their interrogation, both the accused revealed the route through which they used to bring the raw material into the firecracker factory.

Another angle which the Delhi Police has been investigating in the factory fire case is whether any minors were employed in the factory.

"So far, (the accused) have not claimed about any minor's working in the factory. We are now going through their testimony and will probe the case from all possible angles," said a police source.

Sources further claimed that both accused were evidently guilty.

During interrogation, both of them had reportedly told police that they had never expected that an incident of this proportion would ever take place and claim so many lives.

Police also claimed that the are also verifying the answers given by both of the accused.

"Why they brought so many explosives and whether they were having any licenses for the explosives; all those questions were asked to both the accused and their versions were verified," said a police source.

The investigation in the case is being monitored by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Joy Tirkey.

Earlier, the Crime Branch on Monday had visited the factory.

Police sources claimed that the case was transferred to Crime Branch, but, officially, they have not yet started the probe. Sources further claimed that the spot was visited by the team of Crime Branch, which also gathered details from the investigation officer, who was earlier handling the case.

The factory was reportedly filled with firecrackers at the time of the incident and there was only one exit route.

An investigation revealed that raw materials, including combustible and explosive substances, were being brought in the factory from outside Delhi, possibly from Uttar Pradesh.