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Family members of the victims of the devastating blaze in a three-storey commercial building in west Delhi’s Mundka had a few markers in mind that they were looking for to identify their loved ones as body bags were opened one after another containing charred remains of at least 27 people who died in the blaze.

Among the items that these people were looking for in the mortuary of the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital were a bangle, a bracelet, a piece of dress, shoe and nail paint.

Some relatives, unable to stomach the horrific shape in which the bodies were, and tragically the stench, had called other members or friends to help them check and make sure that they claimed the “right body or remains”.

According to police, of the 27 bodies only eight have been identified so far. Deputy commissioner of police (outer district) Sameer Sharma said that they are trying to ascertain whether missing persons are the ones whose dead bodies are yet to be identified.

To identify the dead, police are working with the forensic science experts. A team of FSL senior experts visited the site and collected forensic samples.

Deepa Verma, Director, Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini said “Our two teams, including senior experts are working at the spot currently. They will identify the objects, lift samples for the purpose of identification and collection. The experts from FSL will be assisting police in identifying and lifting samples from the spot which will be later handed over to the Investigating Officer.”

Doctors at the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial hospital said that once the hospital gets a clearance from the Delhi Police, along with a list of missing people, they will start calling families to give their DNA samples. “These will be matched with the dead bodies. The process takes a minimum of four days,” a doctor, who asked not to be named, said.

The police investigation so far has shown that most of the victims, and those reported missing were women working at the CCTV assembly unit in the building. According to family members many of these women joined the unit about a year ago following relaxations in the Covid19 restrictions where they worked for monthly wages of ₹ 8000- ₹ 10,000.

Nafisa, who was looking for her sister-in-law, Masarrat, said there was nothing but bones. “The stench is so strong that one can’t breathe. Rarely a body bag had a full human form. Some were missing a hand, some legs and other organs. It’s horror,” she said.

Sunita, 35 (full name?) could not take it, and called her brother to help her find her 20-year-old daughter Sonam. She had a photo of Sonam, and was hoping that she could locate her daughter with her face intact. “My husband died in the hospital in April last year of Covid-19. An here I am, again, now looking for my dead daugther,” she said. .

Asha was hoping to recognise her daughter-in-law Madhu, 29, with a nose ring that she was wearing when she came to work at the factory on Friday. Madhu’s sister Juicy Sinha, 22, who also worked at the unit, survived by hopping on to a crane that was passing by when the blaze broke out, and was stopped by the locals to evacuate people on the second floor. Madhu also tried but she couldn’t make it. “I wish I could save my sister,” Sinha said.

Hope was fading out for the family members of 18-year-old Nisha. They said she was wearing a white jeans, but knew that it would not help them any more. “When the bodies have been burnt, how could clothes survive. We tried, but can’t identify her from among the bodies that are kept here,” Kavita, Nisha’s sister said.

“Every body looks the same,” said a desperate Bittu Kumar, whose 19-year-old niece Mahi Sharma was among those missing. Kumar was looking for Mahi for the last 18 hours, with a few photos of his niece and was showing them to doctors and police officials to help him identify her.

Kumar said they got to know about the fire from some neighbours who worked in the same building. Mahi’s brother, Rohit, reached the spot and joined the locals in rescuing the trapped occupants.

“I rescued over a dozen people from the building. Broke the glass from one side and helped people get down using ladders, but I could not find my sister,” said Rohit, who injured his hand during the rescue.

For the families of -- Tania Bhushan, Mohini Pal, Yashoda, Vishal, Ranju Devi, Drishti, Kailash Jyani and her son Amit, all employees of the company -- Saturday brought a sort of closure as they were able to identify their bodies.

The family of Yashoda Devi, 38, a resident of Mubarakpur, identified her body by a ring and earrings that she was wearing. “We were trying to reach her but her phone was switched off. We looked for her in all the hospitals but couldn’t find her. However, this morning, we came here and found her body,” said Rinku, Yashoda’s daughter.

Parents of Tania Bhushan, 26, sales head of the company, struggled all night on Friday hoping and praying they get a call that she was alive. On Saturday, they found her body, recognised by a bracelet that she was wearing. “She was going to get married in October,” Nikhil, her brother, said.

Vijay Pal recognised the remains of his wife 42-year-old Mohini from a bangle that he had gifted her in January this year. “The bangle had two turtles engraved on it,” he said with a choked throat.

Drishti’s identified her body from a ring she was wearing in her right hand. The two were in a relationship for the last four years and got engaged last year to get married in November later this year. “I can’t believe she is no more,” he said.

Soumya Pillai covers environment and traffic in Delhi. A journalist for three years, she has grown up in and with Delhi, which is often reflected in the stories she does about life in the city. She also enjoys writing on social innovations. ...view detail

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