Ten days after the fire at Om Heera Panna Mall in Oshiwara, even as an injured senior citizen fights for his life in the ICU, his children are still awaiting a response to their complaint to the police. Victim Raj Israni’s son, Luv, and daughter Medha Bhatia claimed in their September 25 complaint letter to the police and BMC that the firefighting system in the mall was not working. The complaint claims that Raj, 69, was stuck inside the mall for 40 minutes and inhaled smoke in a large quantity.

The fire broke out on the afternoon of Friday, September 22, when over 500 people were inside the three-storey mall. Most of the citizens ran outside after learning about the fire. The fire brigade rescued 14 people stuck inside, most of them from the terrace and a few through a staircase. Four people were admitted to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital after inhaling large quantities of smoke. One of them was Raj. Luv filed the complaint against the secretary and owner of the mall and demanded action against them for negligence.