Mundka fire: Families of three victims perform last rites; 16 bodies still unidentified

On May 13, a massive fire broke out in a four-storey building in outer Delhi's Mundka, leaving 27 people dead

The family of Madhu Devi, a victim of the Mundka fire, finally performed her last rites on Wednesday, almost a month after the incident that claimed lives of 27 people.

Madhu's husband Amit Kumar said that the last few weeks had been nothing less than a nightmare. "We knew she is no more. But as her body was not identified, we had a small hope," Mr. Kumar said.

Madhu was among the three victims whose bodies were identified on Tuesday. So far, 11 of the 27 bodies have been identified and handed over to their family members.

Madhu is survived by her husband and two pre-teen daughters. "We had our wedding anniversary on May 20. As she is no more, who will take care of our children?" Mr. Amit asked.

Amit said he is relieved that at least her last rites have been performed with proper rituals. "We have had many sleepless nights as we wanted to perform last rites for her soul," Mr. Kumar said.

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) on Tuesday handed over the DNA profiles of three unidentified bodies to the police. With the help of the DNA profiles, the victims were identified as Madhu Devi, a resident of Mundka, Narender, a resident of Prem Nagar, and Muskan, a resident of Kirari Suleman Nagar.

The bodies of the three victims were handed over to the families.