India, March 25 -- The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a fire at a multi-storeyed mixed land use building in Palam that killed nine members of a family and left three others injured on March 18.

The commission issued notice to the Delhi chief secretary and Delhi Police commissioner, asking for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.

In a statement, it said, "...reportedly, the fire brigade teams' hydraulic crane developed some technical snag, resulting in delayed rescue operation. Locals alleged that timely functioning of the equipment could have saved more lives."

The fire started at around 6.15am, reportedly due to a short circuit at a ground-floor shop and quickly...