Four, Including Minor girl, Held For Planned Govindpuri Fire that killed Three
New Delhi : A 17-year-old girl and three others have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the Govindpuri fire tragedy that killed three family members, police said on Sunday. Police said they set fire to a scooter parked in the building to “teach a lesson” to the resident over a monetary dispute of around Rs 80,000. The fire broke out in a multi-storey residential building in Tughlakabad Extension in southeast Delhi around 2.20 am on June 12, killing Pankaj Pandey (28), his sister Sonia (20) and his grandmother Sushila Devi (70) and leaving eight others injured.
Police claimed that Deepak, who lived on the fifth floor of the fire-damaged building, allegedly took the money from the accused and refused to return it despite repeated requests, making the accused angry with him.
“When their efforts failed, they conspired to teach him a lesson by setting fire to his scooter parked on the ground floor. However, the fire quickly spread to other parked vehicles and engulfed the building, causing many casualties,” police said.
After examining the surrounding security cameras after the fire, the police noticed that a masked woman entered the building at around 02.23, shortly before the fire broke out. Moments later, a bright flash was seen from inside the building before the woman was seen leaving.
Police said the footage became a crucial clue in the investigation, prompting them to investigate the incident as an act of arson rather than an accidental fire.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said, “During the investigation, the teams examined CCTV footage from the area and noticed that a woman had entered the building shortly before the fire broke out. Based on the evidence collected, the police concluded that the fire was a deliberate act of arson.” he said.
The teams identified the little boy and detained him.
During interrogation, Sarita allegedly revealed her involvement in the incident and the role played by the co-accused in planning the incident. The accused allegedly believed that damaging Deepak’s vehicle would force him to resolve the dispute.
“Investigation revealed that Niranjan (33) and his brother Rajkumar (27), both residents of Navjeevan Camp, allegedly hatched the plan as they wanted to pressure Deepak to return the money,” the DCP said.
Police said Sarita, Niranjan and Rajkumar were also arrested.
Police initially registered a case under Sections 287 (negligent conduct in relation to fire) and 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) after the incident and initiated an investigation. Following the findings, the police added sections under the BNS such as criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, mischief by fire and sneaking into the house during the night.
At 02.31 on June 12, police received a PCR call about the fire and immediately took teams to the scene. Fire brigade, police and citizens carried out a rescue operation and evacuated the residents trapped in the smoke-filled building.
Eight people were injured and were shifted to AIIMS Trauma Center and Safdarjung Hospital for treatment. Among those seriously injured were Pankaj’s speech-impaired mother Guddi Devi (50) and younger sister Moni (18), police said earlier.
Police said the investigation found that a short circuit did not cause the fire as initially suspected and that evidence pointed to a pre-planned action aimed at targeting a specific person.
Police said further investigations were ongoing.
