'Khatm Hone Wala Hoon Aaj': Delhi Fire Victim In Last Phone Call To His 'Brother'

A massive fire at a Delhi factory claimed at least 43 lives, mostly labourers, early on Sunday. Soon after the fire broke out at the Anaj Mandi, a man in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor woke up to a frantic call from his close friend around 5 am, telling him that he was going to die.  

In the last chilling call, the 30-year-old worker -- identified as Musharraf Ali -- who also belonged to Bijnor -- can be heard requesting his friend, Monu Aggarwal (33), to "take care of things at home". The audio recording of the entire conversation is available with News Nation.

Musharraf Ali is also heard pleading with his friend to take care of his wife and four children after he was gone.

"Monu, khatm hone wala hoon aaj (Monu, I am going to die today). There is fire everywhere. Brother, please come to Delhi tomorrow and take me. There is fire everywhere and no way to escape," Ali told his brother.

"I will not survive today. Please take care of my family, brother... I am not able to breathe... just come and take me...take care of the family," he further said.

Ali also told his brother to break the news of his death to the elders of the house first.

When his brother asked him to try save himself, he said: "Ab koi raasta nahi bacha (there is no way now)".

"I am about to die brother, just three-four minutes remain...even if I die, I will be with you," he said.

India Today reported that recently, both of them had attended the wedding of a common acquaintance in Bijnore. As the news of a fire at Delhi Anaj Mandi broke, Monu rushed to Delhi with Musharaf's cousin. It took them six hours to reach the LNJP Hospital.

"I have lost a brother. I will live by my commitment to help his family but I have lost everything today. My best friend is gone forever," Monu told India Today.

Ali is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. He had been working at the factory for the last four years.

The scene was equally grim at Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital (LHMC Hospital) where nine of the victims were brought dead, besides one injured person.

Family members, fellow villagers and acquaintances were frantically looking for survivors, from one hospital to another, and urged police authorities to help in tracing them.

Bihar native Wajid Ali sank down to the floor in front of the mortuary at LHMC Hospital after seeing the body of his young cousin and learning that his two brothers are untraceable after the massive blaze.

Ali, in his 20s, said he works in a bag-making unit in the same area. He woke up to the sad news and rushed from one hospital to another looking for his family members, only to find his cousin's body at the Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital (LHMC),

Ten victims were brought to this hospital in central Delhi, nine of them dead and one survivor who was admitted in the ICU. As many as 34 people were brought dead at LNJP Hospital, where 15 injured were admitted. Most of the victims were labourers, doctors said.

At LHMC Hospital, friends and relatives were looking for 14-year-old Mohammed Sahmat and 13-year-old Mohamed Mahbub, who were present in the factory during the fire.

Mahbub's uncle Mohammed Hakim, who is a rickshawpuller and lives in Hari Nagar, was left in despair as he saw the body of his nephew with burn injuries in the mortuary.

"If Allah is merciful, we will find Sahmat," Arman said, still nursing hope of finding the teenager alive.

The tragic incident prompted visit from high-profile politicians, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union ministers Hardeep Puri and Harsh Vardhan, Lok Sabha MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, Delhi Industry Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari and BJP MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa to the LNJP Hospital.

The BJP leaders also visited the LHMC Hospital and met the victims' families. The heart-rending incident brought back tragic memories of the Uphaar cinema hall blaze in 1997.

"This is perhaps the biggest tragedy of this nature after the Uphaar mishap," Puri told reporters at LHMC Hospital.

A large number of security personnel were deployed at the two facilities, even as emotions ran high and relatives wailed in grief ruing the fate of their family members.

"I saw my 22-year-old brother in a body bag. What will I tell my parents in Bihar," said a grieving Haider Ali, as he broke down after visiting the mortuary.

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Mohammed Mustaqeen, 18, from Saharsa, Bihar, said, his elder brother Mohammed Afsad, 24, died in the incident.

"Afsad worked on the third floor in the jacket manufacturing unit. He had been working there for six years. Afsad couldn't celebrate Eid this year with his family. He had last visited home three months ago. Now, he would never come home for Eid," a mourning brother said.

"My brother was to leave for home town in Bihar tomorrow morning. He had asked me to buy items of daily use for house," said Mustaqeen, who had come to Delhi a few months ago.

Almost all the deceased were migrant labourers hailing from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Police and fire department officials said many of the fatalities occurred due to suffocation as the people were sleeping when the fire started at around 5 am on the second floor of the building that did not have fire safety clearance and was packed with combustible material like card boards.

It took over 150 firefighters nearly five hours to douse the blaze. As many as 63 people were pulled out from the building. While 43, including one minor, died, 16 were injured. Two fire department personnel were hurt while carrying out rescue work, officials said.

Lok Sabha MP Verma demanded that a "high-level inquiry should be done in 48 hours and tell us what were the lapses, and the people responsible for it"

Sirsa said, "We have learnt no lesson from Uphaar tragedy. We stand with the families in the hour of grief".