“Even though he had his office on the third floor of the Retiwalla estate, he visited it only when his boss, who has his office on the fourth floor of the same building, scheduled a meeting,” he said. “He was a perfectionist and that reflected in his work too. He was always out for inspection at other sites,” said his brother-in-law, who did not wish to be named.

Before the burial on Tuesday, Bootwala’s grieving wife was heard asking her husband’s friends and colleagues if they knew what really happened minutes before the end. She even read what the newspapers had published.

Bootwala’s wife was informed minutes after the fire started, and rushed to Byculla on finding his cellphone unreachable. At the site, after varying reports on where he might be from friends and colleagues, it was only at 7 pm that somebody told her to check the morgue at JJ Hospital.

All those present repeatedly described Bootwala as a very helpful person who would go out of his way to help others. Some reports said Bootwala had helped others escape from the window where he breathed his last, although they could not be independently confirmed.

While family members accepted the accident as fate-ordained, they blamed the fire officials for not reaching on time and for being poorly equipped. “Had the fire officials come on time, today he and many others would have survived,” said another relative.

Originally from a coastal village in Saurashtra, Gujarat, Bootwala was working hard to purchase an apartment. The family lived in a rented home in Versova.

... contd.