2 killed in fire at west Delhi home; battery blast suspected

Two people, including a 17-year-old boy, died on Monday after a fire broke out at their residence in west Delhi

Two people, including a 17-year-old boy, died on Monday after a fire broke out at their residence in west Delhi. Both the victims worked as e-rickshaw drivers and it is suspected that an e-battery that was being charged on the floor below exploded.

The victims were rushed to Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival, police said (Hindustan Times)

The incident took place around 4:40am and the victims have been identified as Mohammad Sufed and his uncle, Mohammad Sahmad (38), both originally from Bhagalpur in Bihar.

A preliminary investigation showed that the fire started after one of the portable e-rickshaw batteries that were being charged on the ground floor of the building exploded, though an investigation in the matter is still ongoing, fire officials said.

The Delhi Fire Services received a call about the blaze around 4.42am on the first first floor of a four-storey residential building in Raghubir Nagar. Three water tenders and a water bowser were rushed to the spot and it took around 40 minutes to douse the flames.

The victims were then found and rushed to Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival, police said.

“Prima facie, the two victims were e-rickshaw drivers and had been charging portable e-rickshaw batteries at the rented premises. The exact cause of the fire is being ascertained and a detailed inquiry is underway,” deputy commissioner of police (west) Hareshwar Swami said.

Police said Sahmad along with Sufed and his father, Mohammad Naseeb, lived together in the rented accommodation. Naseeb is also an e-rickshaw driver and all three would regularly charge their e-batteries at home.

Family members blamed the owner of the building for the incident. “For years, the building owner has been running an illegal godown on the ground floor where e-rickshaw batteries are charged. At least 20 batteries must have been on charge here. It’s due to his negligence that my family members have died,” alleged Sahmad’s brother, Mohammed Rehman.

Police said the exact sequence of events, where exactly the fire broke out, and other details have yet to be determined.

Rehman said that he learnt of the fire around 6 am and rushed from his home nearby. “But, by the time I reached, the neighbours had already taken the two of them to the hospital.”

Mohammed Rehan, one of the neighbours, said that he tried to pull the victims out but couldn’t enter the building due to the heat. “It took the fire department about 15 minutes to reach. In the meantime, we could hear the boy shouting for help but couldn’t do anything to save him.”