Mohan More, an assistant at the CM's office died helping people escape through windows when the fire engulfed Mantralaya on Thursday

The man who died saving people

The More household at Mira road is aggrieved. Fifty-four year-old Mohan More left home on Thursday morning to report to work at the Mantralaya, but never returned to his family.

More, who worked at the Mantralaya for 28 years, was in charge of managing various official matters and visitors at the CM’s office on the sixth floor and has served since Sharad Pawar held the office.

Mohan More called his family at 3.30 pm on Thursday and told them he was unable to breathe because of the smoke. Pic/Sameer Markande

More’s wife, Shubhangi, hasn’t moved away from the television set since Thursday, after the news of the fire first broke out. She desperately wants to know the reason behind the fire that lead to her husband’s death.

More’s 23 year-old son Sanket is in severe shock and hasn’t said a word since he identified his father’s charred body at JJ hospital.

However, More’s 28-year-old daughter, Priyanka, has shown courage in the face of this adversity and vows to live up to her father’s dream. She will appear for her preliminary IAS exam today. “It was my father’s dream that I work as an officer at the Mantralaya where he served for so many years. Though he is not among us now and the grief is really taking its toll on me, I will stay focused and fulfill his dream,” said Priyanka.

More’s sister-in-law Maya Darekar said, “Mohan called his nephew at 3.30 pm on Thursday and said he was inside the CM’s office and was finding it difficult to breathe due to the smoke. After that his phone was switched off.”

Praful Karekar, More’s colleague at Mantralaya, said, “Almost everyone said they saw More evacuating and helping people escape the fire.

I met a Mantralaya worker at the hospital who said that, to save him, More broke open a window pane so that he could escape. He died helping people escape.”u00a0