Fire brigade personnel found the bodies of two persons on the sixth floor of the charred Mantralaya in Mumbai around noon on Friday, raising the toll from Thursday’s fire to five.
One was Mohan More, a sweeper. The other was a retired person, also a sweeper, Tukaram More, who, after putting in 35 years of service, had come to his old office in connection with paperwork on retirement benefits.
“My father had served the office very loyally for 35 years. For him the door of the chief minister’s office was the gate of a temple. See, he has come to die here,” said a heart-broken Deepa More, daughter of Tukaram, who had come to Mantralaya late Thursday night from Virar in search of her father. The bereaved family took Tukaram’s body home.
The family of Mohan More had also been at the gates of Mantralaya since Thursday evening. Mohan, who used to open the door for the chief minister, did not leave his place out of a sense of duty. His body was recovered mid-noon.
The family of a sweeper had much to say about the treatment meted out to them by the police under the name of security. “We were not allowed to make inquiries and since 9.30 pm last night the police simply drew us away from the place. We have been on the roads. The chief minister, for whom my uncle used to open the gates every day, does not even show any sympathy now that the body has been recovered. He doesn’t even know the name of the person who probably had talked to him every single day in the office, it’s such a shame,” said the nephew of the deceased sweeper.
Though the fire was doused early Friday, fire brigade officer S.V. Joshi said cooling operations would continue for the next two days.