Four of family die in minor fire on third floor of E Delhi home

New Delhi: Four members of a family died while asleep on Tuesday after a fire broke out on the third floor of a building in East Delhi's Old Seemapuri area, officials said.

The deceased have been identified as Horilal (59), his wife Reena (55), their son Ashu (24) and daughter Rohini (18). The family members were sleeping on the third floor of the house, while their 22-year-old son Akshay had a narrow escape as he was sleeping on the second floor, they said.

A call about the fire was received at around 4 am and four fire tenders with 16 fire-fighters were rushed to the spot, said Atul Garg, director, Delhi Fire Services.

Domestic articles in a room on the third floor of the house caught fire, resulting in the death of four people. The victims were found dead on the spot. The building comprised ground plus three floors and was situated in an area of about 25 square yards, he said, adding that it was a minor fire.

The fire officer, however, has ruled out any suspicion of a short-circuit and based on their preliminary inquiry, they suspect that either a mosquito coil or an agarbatti (incense stick) kept in the room could have sparked the fire which spread to the clothes kept on the table and later to the curtains.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahadra) R Sathiyasundaram said, "The crime team, officials from Forensic Science Laboratory and other senior officials also visited the scene of incidence."

The victims did sustain burn injuries and might have died due to suffocation after inhaling smoke, but only the post-mortem report will be able to ascertain the exact cause of death and ascertain the extent of burn

injuries.

Akshay, the only surviving member of the family, works as a labourer in Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh. He had come home after midnight after work. He went to the third floor to get food and later slept on the second floor. He survived since the fire did not spread from the third floor of the building, police said.

Recalling the fiery night, he said, "Around 4 am, I heard my neighbours screaming my mother's name. When I came out, they said that the glass of the window of third floor, where my four family members were sleeping, was broken and smoke was coming out of it. I was on the second floor and went upstairs, but there was heavy smoke. I came downstairs and again went up with neighbours to check on them," — his eyes welling up.

Horilal was working as a peon in Shastri Bhawan, Delhi and was due to retire in March 2022. His wife worked as a sweeper in MCD. His daughter was a class 12 student at a government school while his son was unemployed, they said.

A case has been registered under IPC section 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) and 304A (causing death by negligence), the DCP said. The second and third floors were owned by the deceased's family, while the rest of the floors were occupied by other families, police said.