New Delhi: The bodies of five of the seven newborns who died in a fire at a neonatal hospital in East Delhi have been handed over to their families after postmortem. Police gave this information on Monday.

An official said the bodies of the other two newborns would be handed over after post-mortem on Monday.

Police said there are claims that an infant had died hours before the fire, but this could only be confirmed after an autopsy.

The private neonatal hospital in which seven newborns died and five others were injured in a fire in Vivek Vihar area was running despite the expiry of its license. There were no qualified doctors involved and there was no clearance from the FIR department.

Police have arrested hospital owners Dr Naveen Khichi and Dr Akash – who were on duty when the fire broke out late on Saturday night.

Both the arrested accused will be presented in Karkardooma court in the afternoon. The officer said police may seek his custody for further questioning.

Police said forensic teams and an inspector from the electricity department will visit the spot on Monday to find out the exact cause of the fire.