Teen dies as fire hits Malvani shop with shutter down on Diwali night; kin allege staff fled

A fire broke out at a shop storing firecrackers in Malvani, Mumbai, on Diwali night, killing 16-year-old Shahnawaz Khan, who was trapped inside. The incident took place on November 9 at around 9.30 pm, near Gate No. 8 of MHB Colony.

Shahnawaz had been working for about a month at Vinod Jaiswal's wholesale shop, which sells tobacco, cigarettes and groceries. He had received his first salary, Rs 6,000, that day. The money was meant for the treatment of his bedridden father, who has tuberculosis.

It is alleged that when the fire flared up, the shop owner and some employees pulled down the shutter to save the goods. The flames, however, reached the firecrackers kept inside and explosions began. Shahnawaz was trapped with no way out. The intense heat brought down the first-floor slab. Firefighters brought the blaze under control after 30 to 45 minutes and recovered Shahnawaz's body from under the slab.

Part of the shop's first floor and its walls fell on two neighbouring houses, destroying their household belongings.

Shahnawaz's mother, Zulekha Begum, said: "My husband has TB, he is bedridden and cannot work. Of our six children, only the youngest, Shahnawaz, lived with us. Now he is gone too. On the night of the fire, he phoned at 9 pm and asked me to come and collect his salary. Everything seemed fine then. But at 10.30 pm the owner called and said Shahnawaz had run away and the shop was on fire. I rushed to the spot and kept asking the employees whether my son was inside. They said they had checked and he was not there. At about 4 am the police told me a body had been found at the hospital and asked me to identify it. But nothing was left to identify. Then Rishi, one of the shop owner's sons, came and said the body was Shahnawaz's."

Zulekha Begum asked Rishi how he knew it was Shahnawaz when his father had earlier said the boy had left the shop. She alleges that the employees ran away and her son was left trapped inside. She believes he could have survived had the shutter been open. She is appealing to the public and the administration for justice.

Former corporator Siraj Shaikh said the shutter was closed when he reached the spot. According to him, local residents tried to put out the fire but the flames were too fierce. Shaikh said a large stock of firecrackers had been kept without any safety permission. He said: "Just imagine, a child is trapped in a shop with the shutter down and firecrackers are bursting all around." He demanded an impartial inquiry and a stringent FIR for negligence. On talk of a short circuit, he said: "There is a rumour that the fire was caused by a short circuit, but I do not agree. The circumstances should be properly investigated."

Shahnaz Salim Khan, 50, who lives in Room No. 15, said: "I have lost everything, and now I am on the street. I had told the shopkeeper that keeping firecrackers next to our homes was dangerous, but he ignored me. Our TV and rooms were burnt in the fire. Four of us, including my daughter-in-law, were trapped on the first floor. We escaped only by breaking through the falling debris."

Haseena Shaikh, about 50, of Room No. 16, said: "I was cooking when I heard the explosions. Sparks flying from the shop engulfed the whole area in no time. I ran to save my life. The shopkeeper had no fire extinguishers. Had there been arrangements, this accident could have been avoided. The shop's wall fell on our house and the furniture was broken. I am filing a police complaint. I believe the owner shut the shutter to save his goods, because of which a child died and our homes were ruined."

A police officer said Malvani police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) in the case. The exact cause of the fire awaits reports from the fire brigade and Adani Electricity. The officer said further investigation and action would be based on these reports, which would also make clear whether there was negligence or a violation of safety norms.