Kanpur shopping complex fire doused after 38-hr operation, body of man found

The body of a person was found on Saturday evening after the fire at a commercial complex that gutted over 800 shops in Kanpur was finally doused after a 38-hour operation.

Police officials said there was no other casualty in the massive fire which was controlled with the help of 60 fire tenders.

Talking to PTI, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Pramod Kumar confirmed that the charred body of Gyan Chand (40), who worked in one of the shops and had been missing, has been found.

The last rites were performed immediately amid police presence, the DCP said.

On Saturday evening, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav reached the fire site and met the businessmen whose shops and establishments were gutted and demanded that the state government get their losses assessed and provide true compensation to them.

"We stand with the businessmen in this hour of sorrow," Yadav, who spent about half an hour with them, said.

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The round-the-clock operation to douse the flames involving manpower from police, fire department, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had continued for 38 hours.

Firefighters entered the still-smouldering building on Saturday to take stock of the situation on every floor, the DCP said.

At least 800 shops were gutted in the fire that had broken out in a multi-storey commercial building and quickly spread to adjacent towers in the Bansmandi area early Friday.

According to the senior official, goods and cash worth over Rs 500 crore were gutted in the blaze.

DCP Kumar said the fire-fighting operation did slow down during the night as the firemen and police personnel were tired.

The buildings have developed big cracks with debris falling from towers posing a threat to people.

Strong winds on Friday night fanned the flames towards adjoining commercial and residential buildings.

Smoke and fear that fire may spread to their houses forced people in the vicinity to leave for safer places, Mohammad Bilal, a local resident, said.

Ashok Agarwal, a trader, said each of his shops in AR and Masood towers was completely gutted. "I had stocked hosiery items due to high demand during the festival season after taking loans from friends and relatives," he said.

Another businessman, Kamal Kumar, whose shop is situated in Nafees Tower, said he lost everything in the fire, including his ledgers and other documents.

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A four-member committee headed by Additional DM (Finance and Revenue) Rajesh Kumar has been formed to probe the incident and assess the losses, District Magistrate Vishal G Ayyar said on Friday.

Additional Municipal Commissioner, Joint Director, Trade Tax, and chief fire officer are its other members.

The committee was formed following the instructions of Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, who also inspected the incident site Friday and met the shopkeepers.

"Our government stands with the businessmen in this hour of sorrow and we will not leave them alone," Pathak said.

The divisional commissioner and police commissioner have been asked to submit a report to the government about the damage caused by the fire.