NEW DELHI: Delhi fire department chief Atul Garg on Saturday denied reports claiming he said no cash was found during the firefighting operations at Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma‘s residence. Garg clarified his stance after some media outlets, including a news agency, quoted him as saying firefighters didn’t find any cash while extinguishing the flames. The purported statement had led a few to mount high-wattage defence of the beleaguered Delhi HC judge, claiming that he had been subjected to a media trial.
In the statement that Garg washed his hands of, DFS confirmed that two fire tenders had to be deployed to quell a blaze at the house of Delhi HC judge Justice Yashwant Varma on March 14 The statement came amid indicationss that it twas the curiosity of cops who arrived at the scene about the contents of gunny backs in one of the rooms of the outhouse at the judge’s Tughlaq Road residence led them to sound an alert to the brass Fire personnel, in any case, are not authorised to seize any cash. They can only intimate the relevant agency — police, IT department or ED, or higher ups, a senior police officer explained.
Sources suggested it was the suspicion of Delhi Police personnel who had rushed there which might have set in motion the sequence of events leading to the Supreme Court collegium’s decision to hurriedly transfer him to Allahabad HC.
Authorities, however, were tight-lipped about the contents of the sacks, refusing to confirm or deny the recovery of cash. Ordinarily, such a recovery would be recorded and the cash deposited with an agency.
The fire control room received a call about a blaze at Justice Varma’s Lutyens Delhi residence on the day of Holi at 11.35 pm and two fire tenders were rushed to the spot a minute later. They arrived at the judge’s house at 11.43 pm and although the fire was a minor one, the firemen remained at the house for around two hours (1 hour, 56 minutes), as per the incident report prepared by the divisional officer.
