Sultanpuri fire: Did plastic trigger blaze in factory?

New Delhi: A heap of plastic kept nearby an electronic meter might be the reason behind the fire in the Outer Delhi's Sultanpuri factory, which killed four persons on Monday, claimed initial reports of Delhi Police. The postmortem of the deceased was done on Tuesday and the investigators are probing whether child labourers were working inside the factory.

Police sources told the Millennium Post that the police team during investigation found that the electronic meter was burnt and they also found burnt plastic. Investigators suspect that it might be a short-circuit spark that fell on the plastic heap triggering fire all over the factory. "We have seen the wires nearby the meters. They were completely burnt. We are probing the case from several angles," said a police officer.

The investigators are also probing whether child labourers were working there. "Two of the deceased were found to be minors. We have not got their birth certificate from their family," said a police officer. The police claimed that the accused had provided some documents related to the factory which was being investigated by police. The investigation is going on to ascertain whether the factory was running for four to five years.

The postmortem of the deceased was done on Tuesday and Sartaj, a relative of the deceased stated that last time he met his cousin Razi Mohammad (20), on Friday he never thought it will his last meeting with him. "All the deceased were known to each other and had joined the factory four to five months back," said Sartaj, He further added that Razi's brother was getting married in one month.

"The factory had CCTV cameras as I had seen when I met my cousin inside the factory. I think the owner had connected the CCTV with the computer in his house," said Sartaj. He further claimed that at the time of the incident, the owner was in the house and after hearing the news he came out of the house.

Over two-dozen workers were sleeping on the first and second floors of the three-storey building when the blaze started. All, but four escaped, an officer said. The police took the injured ones to a hospital where they were declared dead. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) MN Tiwari stated that they have registered a case under Sections 285 (Negligent conduct concerning a fire or combustible matter) and 304A (Causing death by negligence) of IPC at Sultanpuri police station.