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Hindustan Times
25-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Rohini fire brings back memories of similar incidents that claimed innocent lives
New Delhi, With scant regard for fire safety norms, illegal factories functioning without proper approvals have led to loss of innocent lives in fire tragedies in Delhi, with Rohini being the latest. Rohini fire brings back memories of similar incidents that claimed innocent lives Four people died and three were injured in a fire that broke out at a four-storey building housing multiple manufacturing units in Rithala area of Delhi's Rohini, police said on Wednesday. Before the Rithala incident, the national capital has witnessed many such incidents. Last year in February, a massive fire ripped through a paint factory in outer Delhi's Alipur area, claiming the lives of 11 people. The fire was preceded by a blast and soon it spread to nearby buildings, including a drug rehabilitation centre and eight shops. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi had said that the building where the fire broke out was being used illegally for the purpose of mixing chemical paint. On May 13, 2022 at least 27 people were killed after a massive blaze engulfed a commercial building, comprising basement and four floors, in the Mundka area of west Delhi. The incident had stirred memories of another inferno the 2019 Anaj Mandi blaze that claimed 44 lives, making it the most severe fire incident in the national capital after the Uphaar Cinema tragedy. The Uphaar theatre in the posh Green Park area was screening Bollywood film "Border" and several families were there to catch the movie featuring Sunny Deol on its release day June 13, 1997. But the movie outing turned into a mayhem as a massive blaze broke out during the 3 pm show claiming 59 lives and leaving over 100 injured. In January 2020, a firefighter was killed and 14 others injured when a battery factory collapsed in northwest Delhi's Peera Garhi following an explosion due to a fire. As many as 18 people were rescued from the building, including two caretakers and a security guard. In November 2019, a massive fire gutted a footwear factory at Narela, killing a security guard and a labourer. The body of the security guard was found after the fire was brought under control, but the charred body of the second victim was recovered four days after the blaze. In 2018, another massive fire ripped through a firecracker storage unit at Bawana that left 17 persons, including 10 women, dead. The same year in November, four people were killed and one was injured after a fire broke out at a factory in central Delhi's Karol Bagh. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Indian Express
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Hotels, restaurants, discotheques in Capital no longer need to approach Delhi Police for NOCs. Here's why
Owners of establishments such as hotels, eateries, discotheques, amusement parks, and auditoriums in the Capital will no longer need to approach police for permission or No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to run their operations. In a recent order, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena has withdrawn the sanction power of the Delhi Police in such matters. The Delhi Police's licensing branch will now only deal with the grant or sanction of arms licences and licence for explosives, the order stated. In the June 19 order that was circulated on Sunday, L-G Saxena stated, '…in exercise of powers under section 28 (2) read with section 4 of Delhi Police Act, 1978, I hereby withdraw the sanction granted to Commissioner of Police, Delhi, for issuance of regulations under Section 28 (1) of the Delhi Police Act, 1978, covering the seven activities mentioned at Para 1.' These include hotels, swimming pools, eating houses, discotheques, video game parlours, amusement parks, and auditoriums. In his order, the L-G directed the Commissioner of Police to issue a notification 'repealing the said regulations with immediate effect'. The order further said, 'The repeal notification shall be given wide publicity by Delhi Police and Home Department.' The order noted that the Centre, with an intention to achieve the motto of 'minimum government and maximum governance', has taken up an initiative to reduce multiple licensing regimes, being followed in different states and Union Territories (UTs), and requested simplifying licensing procedures. Citing two court orders, L-G Saxena said the Delhi High Court, in a 2003 judgment pertaining to Uphaar Cinema tragedy, had recommended that 'Delhi Police should only be concerned with Law and Order, and entrusting of responsibility of licensing on the police force is an additional burden…' Citing a Supreme Court judgment that affirmed the recommendations of the HC, the L-G said it had also suggested that 'the existing system of police granting licences should be abolished'. According to L-G Saxena, a committee under the chairmanship of the then Additional Chief Secretary (Home), with officers of Delhi Police, Law and IT Department of Delhi government as members, was constituted to look into the entire gamut of licence/NOCs/permissions, being granted by the licensing branch, and their relevance in the changed scenario. The L-G's order stated that while observing that Delhi Police is facing shortage of staff, it was recommended that the force 'be relieved of the responsibilities of regulating licences in the respect of seven trades.' Noting that authorities such as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council (MCD) and Cantonment Board have also framed regulations for trade activities, the L-G's order stated that 'overlapping of regulations issued under Delhi Police Act, 1978, and Municipal Laws, by multiple authorities…is impinging the overall ease of doing business.' L-G Saxena said some 'progressive states', like Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa, have already done away with the requirement of licences from police for these trade categories. Before issuing the order, L-G Saxena had examined the matter in terms of section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, in consultation with the Law Department of the Delhi government, and found that 'he is well within his powers to direct the Commissioner of Police to rescind the relevant regulations'. According to the licensing unit's website, 'A need was felt to regulate public places like hotels/guest houses, eating houses, cinema halls, auditoriums, swimming pools, amusement parks etc, which receive frequent and heavy foot falls, from Law & Order, public convenience, safety and traffic management point of view… various provisions relating to licensing and registration of such entities were made in the Delhi Police Act-1978.' It further stated, '…This regulatory mechanism has stood the test of time and proved to be best suited for serving the citizens of Delhi. Certain powers, which were earlier vested with the District Magistrate, were transferred to the Commissioner of Police under Section 146 of The Delhi Police Act 1978… Licensing Unit has emerged today as one of the important 'Image Hubs' of Delhi Police.'
Time of India
16-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Cavalryman who rode into flames, not away: 28 years of Captain Manjinder Singh Bhinder's final charge
CHANDIGARH: He rode before he walked - years of equestrianship in boarding school, leading the Junior National Polo team to a podium finish in 1990, captaining the NDA's Riding and Polo team in 1990, and doing it again at the Indian Military Academy in 1991. This excellence is what took Captain Manjinder Singh Bhinder to the elite 61st Cavalry - India's only serving horse-mounted regiment and one of the few operational ones left in the world. And it was the same fearless spirit that led him, at just 29, into the burning Uphaar Cinema in Delhi on June 13, 1997, where he died saving over 150 people. He was watching 'Border' film with his wife Jyotroop Kaur and their four-year-old son when the Uphaar Cinema in Green Park, Delhi, caught fire. As panic gripped the audience, Bhinder acted along with his junior, then Lt Rajesh Pattu. He guided his wife and son to safety and turned back - entering the thick smoke and chaos to pull others out, making multiple trips. He did not return from the last one. His wife, 26, pregnant at the time, and four-year-old son also did not survive when they rushed to find him. Colonel Sukhdev Singh still remembers the day they both joined The Punjab Public School, Nabha, on January 18, 1978. Their racks in the dormitory were side by side - R505 and R506 - and stayed that way through every year until they passed out in 1984. "All those years, our belongings were next to each other. We woke up, dressed, went to morning drills, and lived shoulder to shoulder through every day. His legs were always blue and bruised from riding, but he never bothered. The day I joined NDA, he came a few days later and said, 'Lao, main vi aa gaya.' That's how he was- unshakeable."
Indian Express
13-06-2025
- Indian Express
Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy: 28 years on, families demand justice
'We have a parallel criminal justice, one for the rich and powerful and one for the poor,' remarked Neelam Krishnamoorthy, the face of the campaign seeking justice for the victims of the 1997 Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy, in a prayer meeting held Friday at Smriti Upvan. This year marks the 28th anniversary of the fire accident that broke out on June 13, 1997, claiming 59 lives due to asphyxiation and leaving hundreds injured in the ensuing stampede. Families of the 59 people who died meet annually to remember their loved ones. Neelam and her husband, Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, lost their children — 17-year-old Unnati and 13-year-old Ujjwal — in the blaze. 'I have kept these pictures for 28 years, the irony is many family members have died since,' Neelam said while she took down photos of the deceased pinned on a soft board post the ceremony. As president of the Association of Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), she and her husband have led a long struggle for justice. 'The courts are testing my patience too, but I've not given up because I have promised my children that we will get justice for them,' she added. Commenting on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed 241 lives yesterday, she said, 'A whistleblower had already raised that there were problems with Boeing, but nobody listened. Similarly, the cinema also ran for years despite violations of norms. When greed overtakes a company, it's ordinary people who are availing the services.' Questioning a city court's decision to reduce the jail term of the accused brothers and owners of the cinema hall, Gopal and Sushil, Neelam said, 'The judge said that the accused also suffered, but how can they compare it with the pain of a mother who lost both of her children? Had it been an ordinary citizen, he would've been languishing behind bars.' In July 2022, a Delhi court granted relief to the brothers, ordering their release from jail by asking them to serve only the sentence already undergone, in a case of tampering with evidence in the case. The court observed that a trial court had earlier passed a sentence that was 'punitive and retributive in nature' to teach them a lesson. In 2015, the Supreme Court imposed a Rs 60-crore fine on the accused brothers in lieu of a custodial sentence. The amount was deposited with the Delhi government and was earmarked for building a second trauma centre, in memory of the victims, as an extension of AIIMS in Dwarka. However, this project has remained stalled. 'They (the Supreme Court) actually awarded the government for its failure. They were given Rs 60 crores to build a second trauma centre, but there's no sign of it so far,' she said. Neelam has since approached the apex court enquiring about the trauma centre. Amidst calls for justice, the Uphaar cinema in Green Park stands bearing the marks of the blazing tragedy, with a warning sign that reads 'stay away.'
India Gazette
13-06-2025
- India Gazette
28 years of Uphaar cinema tragedy: Families remember victims, demand action
New Delhi [India], June 13 (ANI): On the 28th anniversary of the Uphaar Cinema fire, grieving families and the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) gathered at Smriti Upavan, the memorial site in Green Park Extension, to honor the 59 lives lost on June 13, 1997. This year, the anniversary once again falls on Friday the 13th, mirroring the tragic day when a fire during a film screening turned into one of Delhi's worst man-made disasters. The commemoration was marked by prayers, heartfelt tributes, and renewed calls for justice and accountability. 'For 28 years, we have carried the grief of our loved ones and the burden of a system that continues to fail its citizens,' said Neelam Krishnamoorthy, President of AVUT. She added, 'This is not just a day of mourning--it is a protest against institutional negligence and the apathy that allowed this tragedy to happen.' The Uphaar fire remains a stark reminder of fire safety lapses, regulatory failures, and administrative indifference. Even decades later, the battle for justice continues. Following the tragedy, AVUT filed a civil writ petition in the Delhi High Court demanding trauma care facilities for the city. This led to the establishment of the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, which has served the public for 18 years. In a criminal appeal, the Supreme Court in 2015 imposed a Rs 60 crore fine on the Ansal brothers--owners of Uphaar Cinema--in lieu of a custodial sentence. The funds were allocated to build a second trauma centre at AIIMS Dwarka, but the project remains stalled. 'Nearly a decade after the Supreme Court's directive, the Dwarka trauma centre has yet to be built. This is a betrayal--not just to the Uphaar families, but to every citizen relying on timely emergency care,' Krishnamoorthy stated. AVUT continues its legal efforts, urging swift government action to complete the facility. As the nation reflects on this painful chapter, AVUT calls on authorities and civil society to prioritize public safety, strengthen fire regulations, and uphold the sanctity of human life. The Uphaar tragedy must never be allowed to repeat. (ANI)
