“Their last words were that the ‘door is jammed’” said Sonali Jain, with tears rolling out her eyes. Her parents-in-law, brother-in-law, his wife, and their one-year-old child are among the nine people who died in the fire that caught residents of a residential building in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar by surprise.
The fire, which is suspected to have started after a short-circuit in the AC on the second floor, quickly engulfed the upper floors, which, along with the structure and design of the building left them with no way to escape.
On the third floor, the family made frantic calls for help as the fire spread. “They couldn’t open the door,” Sonali said. After the blaze was doused around 8 am, the charred bodies of Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), their son Nishank Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33), and infant grandson (1), were recovered from inside the house.
They weren’t even supposed to be in the house at the time of the fire. They were all meant to accompany Deepak, Sonali and their two minor sons to Manesar to celebrate one of their son’s birthdays.
“We were all supposed to go but Nishank’s son fell sick and we dropped the plan,” Sachin Jain, a cousin, told HT.
Investigators found one body in the bathroom and others near the balcony and door, they said.
Nishank was a Chartered Accountant and had offices in Delhi and Dubai. Anchal was a branch manager at the Punjab and Sindh Bank. Arvind, who used to run a business, retired many years ago and Anita was a homemaker.
“Nishank called many relatives that night, pleading for help,” said Amit Jain, another relative. “He just kept asking to be saved.”
A missed call now weighs heavily on a family friend. Manoj Jain said he received two calls from Nishank between 3:50 and 4 am but missed them as his phone was on silent. “I will regret not picking those calls all my life,” he said.
A desperate attempt to escape
On the fourth floor, Nitin Jain (50), his wife Shally Jain alias Vaishali (48), and their son Samyak Jain (25) were found dead near the terrace door — a sign of their desperate attempt to escape. According to the fire officer who pulled out their bodies, they had a key with them, which they suspect was to open the locked terrace.
Nitin’s younger son Prasuk (22), who also lived in the house, had travelled to Indore a day earlier.
The family had returned home around 1:30am after attending a wedding function. Nitin’s mother, Deepa Jain, recalled her last conversation with her son.
“We were discussing Samyak’s marriage. We were even planning Nitin and Shailey’s 27th wedding anniversary on May 6. Now everything is gone,” Deepa, a former municipal councillor, said.
Relatives believe the three of them were trapped on the staircase while trying to reach the terrace. “They either didn’t find the right key or couldn’t open it. All three were lying next to each other,” said Nitin’s brother Ankit Jain (48).
Nitin was a local businessman involved in the paper trade in Ghaziabad. He, along with his son, also owned Indus Flavours, a restaurant in Cross River Mall in Shahdara. Friends and relatives remember him as deeply religious and jovial.
“I have known Nitin for five to six years. He was calling everyone for help that night — even his restaurant manager and his younger son,” said family friend Hanuman Jain. “In his last call, he said they wouldn’t survive.”
The family of four was meant to leave for vacation on Tuesday, a friend of Samyak’s said. “I spoke to Samyak two-three days ago and he told me to meet after he returned from Ladakh,” said Kaif at the mortuary, while waiting for the family’s mortal remains.
Owner of house where fire started went back
At the second floor residence, where the fire is suspected to have first begun, Shikha Jain (45), a homemaker, was killed. Her husband Naveen, sustained over 40% burn injuries and remains critical. However, their daughters, 17-year-old Priyal and 22-year-old Rakshita survived with minor injuries.
Manish Jain (51), a family friend, said that Naveen — who runs a packaging business in Ghaziabad — told them while still in the hospital that when the blaze broke out, the parents had urged the girls to jump onto the mattresses locals had laid out on the ground floor. The couple themselves took the risk of taking the stairs.
“Shikha’s mother and two house help were also rescued by the fire department at some point and these two took the stairs but Shikha went back. He was not in a condition to talk further so we don’t know why,” he said.
