CMYK Morning India Ma r a t h i a c t r ess a r r est ed f o r v it r io l ic po st o n sh a r a d paw a r NATION Rs. 3 PATNA SUNDAY, 15 MAY, 2022 PG-12, YEAR— 8, ISSUE— 169 (RNI NO: BIHENG / 2014 / 59124) c o n su Mer in f l a t io n a t 8-yea r h ig h May 't r ig g er ' q u ic ker r a t e h ikes BUSINESS Mundka fire: 29 still missing; death toll may rise AGENCIES NEW DELHI: A day after a massive fire in a building in outer Delhi's Mundka claimed 27 lives, frantic relatives were still searching for their loved ones with police saying that 29 people remained unaccounted for. According to the fire department, the death toll could increase to 30 as charred human remains were found in the building during cooling operations on Saturday morning. Twelve injured are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Delhi. The fire department said the four-storey building, which did not have a fire safety certificate, had a single entry and exit point. "The building had a single escape route which is why there were so many casualties. Twenty-seven people Mundka fire: Delhi CM orders magisterial inquiry AGENCIES NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the Mundka building fire incident that claimed 27 lives. Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia visited the site of the blaze to take stock of the situation. "A magisterial enquiry has been ordered into the incident. The families of the deceased will be given a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, while the injured will be given Rs have died," Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said. He said it is suspected that an explosion in an AC may have triggered the fire. Garg added it was difficult to ascertain whether the remains found on Saturday morning were of one person or more. Harish Goel and his brother Varun Goel, owners of a CCTV camera and router manufacturing and assem- AGARTALA: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday said he has submitted his resignation to Governor SN Arya. Deb made the announcement after meeting the governor at the Raj Bhavan in Agartala. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Bhupendra Yadav said the legislators are meeting shortly to pick the next chief minister. "Party is above all. I am a loyal worker of the BJP. I hope I have done justice to the responsibilities that were given to me -- whether it was BJP state president or Tripura chief minister. I have worked for the overall development of Tripura, and to ensure peace for the people of the state," Deb told reporters. "The 2023 election is coming, and the party wants a responsible organiser to take charge of the affairs here. A government can only be formed if the organisation is strong. After the salary on Thursday. We got to know about the fire at 5 pm, but had no idea that the blaze broke out at her office building. When she did not return home by 7 pm, we started looking for her," he said. Monika lives with her two brothers and a sister in Delhi's Agar Nagar. She is from Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh. Another woman was seen frantically looking for her elder daughter, who also works at the CCTV camera packaging unit. "My daughter Pooja has been working at the CCTV camera packaging unit for the last three months. We live in Mubarakpur and got to know about the incident at 9 pm. She has a cut mark below her left eye. "We are looking for her at various hospitals. She is the sole breadwinner of our fami- ly of four. Her two younger sisters study in a school," she said. Ankit, who works at one of the offices in the building, said a motivational session was underway on the second floor when the fire broke out. "I am very fortunate that I am alive. I could have also lost my life. A motivational session was being held on the second floor of the building when we noticed the blaze. We broke the glass windows and somehow managed to escape," he added. Deepa Verma, Director of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini, said two teams, including senior experts, are working at the spot. "They will collect samples for the purpose of identification and collection," she said, adding that these will be handed over to the investigating officer. 3 cops killed in firing India logs 2,858 new Covid by poachers in MP infections, eleven deaths AGENCIES BHOPAL: Three policemen were killed after poachers opened fire at them at a village in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh in the wee hours of Saturday, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said. The incident occurred on Shahrok Road near Saga Barkheda village under the jurisdiction of Aron police station, some 160 km from the state capital, around 3 am when the police personnel had gone to nab the miscre- Tripura CM quits a year ahead of polls AGENCIES bling company, in whose office the fire is suspected to have started, have been arrested, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Sameer Sharma said. So far, the DCP said, seven of the 27 deceased have been identified -- Tania Bhushan, Mohini Pal, Yashoda Devi, Ranju Devi, Vishal, Drishti and Kailash Jyani. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia visited the spot on Saturday. The chief minister announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the fire, which started from the first floor of the building. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal said he was "deeply pained" by the loss of lives in the tragedy, and called for immediate steps to prevent such incidents in the future. He also extended his condolences to the bereaved families. Distraught relatives of the missing persons thronged the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital on Friday night hoping to get information about them. One of them, Ajit Tiwari, said his sister Monika (21) had started working for the company just a month back. "She received her first elections, someone will obviously become the chief minister," he added. Deb had gone to New Delhi on Thursday and met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda for a confabulation on the party's affairs in the Northeastern state. "The party wants me to work to strengthen the organisation," said the outgoing chief minister. "The people want a long-term BJP government here, if a person like me works for the organisation, obviously it will help the cause," he said. Deb was appointed the chief minister after the BJP stormed to power in 2018, ending 25 years of Left Front rule. There have been rumours of infighting within the BJP's state unit. Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma, who is related to the erstwhile Tripura royal family, is tipped to take charge in the interim, sources said. Though others see Union minister Pratima Bhowmick also as a contender for the post. ants following a tip-off, he said. Police sources said the body of a person with a bullet injury, suspected to be involved in the incident and believed to have been killed in the retaliatory firing by the police, was also recovered from nearby Bidoria village. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a high-level meeting over the incident, following which he announced an ex-gratia of Rs one crore as well as government jobs to the kin of each of the martyred policemen. AGENCIES NEW DELHI: India's COVID19 caseload increased to 4,31,19,112 on Saturday with 2,858 fresh infections, while the number of active cases came down to 18,096, according to Union health ministry data. The death toll climbed to 5,24,201 with 11 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.74 per cent, the ministry said. A decrease of 508 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.59 per cent and the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.66 per cent, the ministry said. The number of people who have recuperated from the viral disease surged to 4,25,76,815. The case fatality rate was recorded at 1.22 per cent, it said. The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide inoculation drive has exceeded 191.15 crore. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the 1-crore mark on December 19. Gyanvapi video survey held peacefully, to resume on Sunday AGENCIES VARANASI: The videography survey of the Gyanvapi Masjid complex in Varanasi which resumed on Saturday following a local court order was carried out without any interruption as all parties cooperated, officials said. They said that the survey work will continue on Sunday. The survey was stalled last week amid objections by the mosque committee, which claimed that the advocate commissioner appointed by the court for the survey did not have the mandate to film inside the premises. "The survey work went on in a peaceful manner. There was no objection from anyone. Everything is normal and conducive, and all parties cooperated," Police Commissioner of Varanasi A Satish Ganesh said. "Today's survey is over, and it will continue tomorrow," he said. District Magistrate of Varanasi Kaushal Raj Sharma said, "Amid tight security arrangements, the videography of the Gyanvapi Masjid complex was held on Saturday, and almost 50 per cent of the survey work has been done." "The survey will continue on Sunday as well. It was conducted from 8 am to 12 noon. The Varanasi police commissioner and a trustee of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust were also present during the survey," Sharma said. "Survey of more than 50 per cent of the place has been done. The survey work is confidential, and is done under the monitoring of the court. So, information regarding the places where the survey was done and what was found cannot be shared now," he added. Sharma also said that all parties were satisfied with Saturday's survey, and it will resume on Sunday. All parties, their advocates, court commissioners and videographers were present during the survey, Sharma said. The mosque is located close to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple and the local court is hearing a plea by a group of women seeking permission for daily prayers before the idols on its outer walls. An important meeting was held with all parties concerned on Friday, Sharma had said earlier, and added that an appeal was made to them to cooperate in the commission's work and the maintenance of law and order. More than 1,500 policemen and PAC jawans have been deployed as part of the security arrangement. The officials said movement of people has been stopped at a distance of 500 metres from the Gyanvapi complex. The police have also stopped vehicular movement coming from Godaulia and Maidagin areas of the city. Before entering the Gyanvapi premises, advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, who is appearing for the Hindu side, said all members of the survey team were told to assemble at 7.30 am at gate number 4 of the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex.