Four of family including 2 kids killed in blaze

New Delhi: Four persons of a family including two children died in a massive fire which broke out in an apartment in Kohat Enclave area of North West Delhi. Police claimed that they have registered a case in this regard. According to the police, the deceased were identified as Rakesh Nagpal (40), his wife Tina Nagpal (37), their son Himanshu (8) and daughter Shreya (3), who lived at the first floor of the building.

The fire department received a call at around 2:50 am. "At least ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was contained within an hour and a half. On inspection, four people, including two kids were found unconscious inside the apartment on the first floor. It seemed they passed out due to suffocation while attempting to escape. Three others, had to be rescued from the building and were rushed to a hospital for treatment," said a fire department official.

The residents of the building where the fire broke out stated that the fire started from the electronic meter. "We heard something blasting my father came out and witnessed that the fire had started he alerted us and we came out of the building," said Aman who lives on the upper ground floor of the building.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West) Aslam Khan said they have registered a case under section 336 and 304 of Indian Penal Code and no arrest was made in the case.

"The lady who lives on the third floor was the first to see the fire after which they alerted everyone about the incident," said the DCP.

She further claimed that the deceased's bodies were found in the staircase as they might have tried to escape from the main door.

Meanwhile, the residents also complained that the fire brigade reached late. Had it responded quickly, the victims could have been saved. Five cars, five scooters and two motorcycles were also charred. A crime and forensics team also visited the spot and a police case has been registered to probe the incident, said a senior police officer. Bodies of the deceased were sent for post-mortem.

"It is suspected that the deceased did not realize that there was a fire downstairs and kept on sleeping. They did not respond when the fire bells were ringing and phone calls were made. When the family realized that there was a blaze, they started running downstairs but by then it was too late and they were caught in the fumes," said a senior police officer.

91-year-old Sarabjeet was rescued along with two other members of his family by Delhi Police personnel using a ladder. Sarabjeet is undergoing treatment since he inhaled some fumes.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said that rescue work was delayed by 45 minutes reflecting inefficiency of the fire services

Earlier on Monday, five persons were killed in a two separate fires at a shoe-manufacturing unit in Delhi's Sultanpuri and Chandni Chowk.

In another fire, two persons had died at a footwear-manufacturing unit in Narela on Saturday, while a 62-year-old shopkeeper died in a pre-dawn blaze at his shop in Sarita Vihar area on Sunday.