The UPSC aspirant who lost his life due to suffocation after a fire broke out a shopping mall in Delhi’s Karol Bagh on Friday, texted his elder brother in a desperate cry for help to save himself. “Bhaiya ab saans phool raha. Kuch karo…(Brother I am short of breath now. Do something),” Kumar Dhirender Pratap’s last message to his elder brother read.
Pratap, who was trapped inside a smoke-filled elevator, had returned to the national capital barely 48-hours before the incident to restart his UPSC preparations. The 25-year-old aspirant from Banaras was trapped inside a lift at the Vishal Mega Mart in Karol Bagh, as fire spread through the building.
The deceased’s elder brother, Virendra Vikram said that Pratap had recently appeared for the UPSC prelims and had recently returned to Delhi after a break. He was staying in a rented accommodation in Karol Bagh.
“I received a message from my brother at 6.51 pm saying he was stuck in the lift and could not breathe. He was asking me to do something, to help him. I immediately called the police, but nothing happened for hours,” Virendra told news agency PTI.
Vikram said that his brother had texted him: “Bhaiya, hum lift mein hoon. Phas gaye hain. Karol Bagh Mega Mart (Brother, I am stuck inside the lift in Karol Bagh Mega Mart).” His final message read: “Ab saans phool raha. Kuchh karo (I am short of breath now. Do something).”
“He had come back just two days ago and was trying to settle in again and get back to studying. Everything he did was for his future and now he is gone. I do not know what to do,” Virendra said.
No Fire Alarms In Mall, Received No Help From Police: Family Alleges
Vikram further said his family did not know Pratap had gone to the mall. “He never visited Vishal Mega Mart. We do not know why he went there. We were all in Banaras,” he said, adding that had he not sent those texts, his family would never have known that he was “stuck and dying in that lift”.
He alleged that were no fire alarms or fire exits in the shopping mall. “When the fire started, the mall cut the lift’s power, trapping him inside with no way out,” Vikram added.
Vikram also claimed that he tried calling the PCR upon receiving the messages from his brother, but no help arrived in time. “The police responded only around 9 pm. Until then, we had no update and I was completely helpless. I kept hoping someone would get there in time,” he said.
The UPSC aspirant’s body was recovered by the police, fire department, and disaster response team during a joint rescue operation.
He said that their mother is still in Banaras and only thinks that Pratap is injured in the incident. “We have not told her yet, she will not be able to bear it…When I saw my brother’s body, there was blood coming from his nose. It was clear he had suffered. That moment broke something in me,” he said.
“Imagine how painful dying due to suffocation must be. My brother, who was my everything died with smoke burning his insides,” Virendra added.
Nearly 90 firefighters and 13 fire tenders were pressed into service for the rescue operation. The firefighting operation went on for over 12 hours, with officials saying the lack of ventilation in the building prolonged the effort, PTI reported.
The cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, but officials suspect it was triggered by a short circuit.
(With inputs from news agency PTI.)
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