One dead in Delhi high-rise fire, police file case

New Delhi : A security guard was killed in a fire which broke out in the 15-storey Himalaya House building, which houses corporate offices, on Kasturba Gandhi Marg in central Delhi Monday. Police have filed a case of negligence causing death.

Sixty-year-old Jai Bhagwan succumbed to injuries at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

“We have filed a case of negligence in the matter,” said a police official.

“Bhagwan was found on the seventh floor of the building and rushed to the hospital. The fire started at 6.20 a.m. and is now completely doused,” a fire officer said.

The fire broke out on the third floor of the building and spread up to the seventh floor.

A total of 32 fire tenders were pressed into service.

“The cause for the fire is yet to be ascertained. There seem to be lapses in the fire safety measures in the building,” Chief Fire Officer A.K. Sharma said. He added that fire-fighting operations were restricted by renovation work going on in the building.

“Five floors were gutted. The loss is estimated to run into crores of rupees,” a fire official said.

Kasturba Gandhi Marg, next to the capital’s shopping centre Connaught Place, is part of an office hub in the heart of the capital with several high-rise buildings.

The American Center, the British Council and the offices of the Hindustan Times are among the buildings that line the road.

The road was barricaded and people from nearby buildings were evacuated as a safety measure.