Doctors stated that deaths were due to asphyxiation caused by smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Delhi Police Crime Branch is investigating the case, and the owner of the building and his manager were arrested on the day of the fire.
[4] The fire occurred at the 600 sq ft (56 m2) plot of a luggage bag factory in the Anaj Mandi area of Central Delhi in the early morning of 8 December 2019.
[2] According to the first responders of the DFS, they had reached the location within five minutes, but their entry to the building was prevented by narrow passageways and the intensity of the fire.
[1] A National Disaster Response Force team was deployed to assist the fire department in the rescue work.
The NDRF team had searched the factory for any remaining trapped victims[9] and swept the area with gas detectors.
[10] According to the NDRF deputy commander, the third and fourth floors were filled with smoke and the levels of hazardous carbon monoxide (CO) were found to be very high.
[6] A police official added that a large amount of plastic stored in the premises led to smoke after the fire started.
[12] The owner of the building and his manager were arrested on the same day under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter).
[15] Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about the incident, calling it "extremely horrific", and announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh (US$2,300) to next of kin of each person that died and ₹50,000 (US$580) for the injured.
[3][5] Manoj Tiwari, Bharatiya Janta Party state president, announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh (US$5,800) to the next of kin of each person that died and ₹25,000 (US$290) to those who were injured.