Short-circuit while charging e-rickshaws kills three

Three persons including an eight-year-old girl were allegedly charred to death when a fire broke out in a house at the Mohan Park area of North-east Delhi’s Shahdara area on Wednesday. According to Delhi Fire officials, ten other people sustained injuries in the fire and were shifted to the local hospital where they are said to be out of danger.

According to the senior police officials of the North-east district, the deceased have been identified as 30-year-old Rajni and her 8-year-old daughter, Karina and 36-year-old Sanjay.

According to a fire department official, the incident took place in the wee hours of Wednesday.

“We received a call at around 5.06 am that a fire broke in the parking area of the house. Here the e-rickshaws were kept for charging. The fire that started on the ground floor, quickly spread throughout the four-storeyed building,” said a senior fire department official.

The official said that initially, five fire tenders were rushed to the spot and tried to contain the blaze. By 6.30 am, the fire was doused. The fire was not that big, however, the burning of e-rickshaws in the vicinity led to a lot of smoke in the area which made it difficult for us to carry out rescue operations.

Meanwhile, ten other people who were injured in the incident are currently undergoing treatment at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital.

According to the fire department official, the exact cause of fire is yet to be established. However, in the preliminary investigation, we suspect that it was due to short-circuit.

Police said that they were informed by the eyewitnesses that several people were charging their e-rickshaws which had allegedly resulted in the short-circuit.

Police further said that the four-storeyed building in Shahdara caught fire due to an electrical fault as a few battery-rickshaw drivers were charging their vehicles on the ground floor.

According to the police, the building housed four families, all relatives, and a tenant family.

A senior police official said that to avoid getting burnt, two people jumped from the first floor of the building. They are out of danger.

Police said that at least 12 e-rickshaws were parked on the ground floor. All of them were gutted. Sources said a Santro car parked in the building was also gutted.