Elderly couple, and woman killed in separate house fires in east, SE Delhi

Police officials said they received a PCR call reporting a blaze at a residential building at 1.36pm. A police team reached the spot and found the first floor of the home engulfed in flames.

Three elderly residents were killed in two separate house fires that broke out in Delhi on Wednesday, according to police and fire officials. The victims included a retired couple killed in a suspected LPG cylinder explosion in east Delhi and a woman who succumbed to smoke inhalation in southeast Delhi, officials said.

Fire officials douse the fire at Jagatpuri building. (HT)

One of the incidents was reported around 1.30pm in a residential building in east Delhi’s Jagatpuri, near Kakardooma. Police officials said they received a PCR call reporting a blaze at a residential building at 1.36pm. A police team reached the spot and found the first floor of the home engulfed in flames.

Firefighters pulled Prem Sagar Malhotra, 75, and his wife Asha Malhotra, 65, from the building, said deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam.

“Two fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire. During rescue operations, the occupants of the house, the couple, were pulled out in an unconscious condition and rushed to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital where doctors declared both of them dead on arrival,” Gautam said adding that prima facie, the cause of death appears to be suffocation due to smoke inhalation.

Police said that a preliminary investigation suggests the fire was likely triggered by an explosion in an LPG cylinder.

“The couple, who had no children, lived alone,” said an official aware of the case details, who asked not to be identified. “They owned the second floor of the building as well which they had rented out. Malhotra was a retired State Bank of India employee and the couple relied on his pension and rental income from the building’s second floor,” the officer cited above said.

A police officer said forensic teams found a heater and a small worship area inside the charred home. “The cylinder blast may have occurred due to its proximity to the heater or incense sticks. There were a lot of clothes and newspapers in the house, which appeared to have helped the fire spread quickly,” the officer added.

In a separate fire hours earlier, 72-year-old Fazila Kishwar died after a blaze tore through a residential building in Shaheen Bagh. Police received an emergency call at 4.41am. Four Delhi Fire Service (DFS) fire tenders and four ambulances were rushed to the scene, officials said.

Police personnel assisted firefighters in evacuation, rescue and crowd management. “Several residents were safely rescued and shifted to nearby hospitals for medical treatment,” DCP (south east) Hemant Tiwari said.

Kishwar, who had pre-existing respiratory ailments, was declared dead during treatment. Police suspect she died from smoke inhalation. The fire also damaged several parked vehicles before it was brought under control.

Authorities have initiated legal proceedings in both cases. Separate inquiries are underway to determine the exact causes of the fires.