Four of family die in fire at northeast Delhi home

Although the exact reason for the fire has not been ascertained, police officers said that an oil lamp that the family kept lit round-the-clock may have caused the blaze.

Four members of a family died after a fire broke out at their third-floor house in northeast Delhi’s Old Seemapuri in the early hours of Tuesday. Police said the fifth and the only surviving member of the family escaped as he was sleeping in a room on the second floor of the four-storey building.

The four-storey building at Old Seemapuri where a fire break out on the top floor on Tuesday morning. (Raj K Raj/HT)

Although the exact reason for the fire has not been ascertained, police officers said that an oil lamp that the family kept lit round-the-clock may have caused the blaze. Police are also examining the possibility of a short-circuit in the decorative lights that were placed around a small temple in the room.

“The fire was most likely caused by the big oil lamp that was kept lit under a wooden table in the room. The house was inspected by forensic experts who are trying to establish the exact reason for the blaze,” said deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram.

Delhi fire services (DFS) chief Atul Garg said that the fire was small, and limited to just the one room where the four victims were sleeping.

The victims were identified as Horilal (59), a peon at Shastri Bhawan; his wife Reena (55), a sanitation worker in East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC); and their two children – Ashu Chauhan (24), and Rohini (18). Horilal’s third son, Akshay (22), who worked as a housekeeping staff in a private logistics firm, escaped as he was sleeping on another floor.

According to Akshay, his brother Ashu, a housekeeping staff in the North Block, was scheduled to get married in November. Horilal was due to retire from his job in March next year, he added.

The DFS chief said that the fire control room received a call around 4am about the fire. Four fire tenders were rushed to douse the flames and the fire was immediately brought under control, he said. The blaze spread due to inflammable items in the room that was bolted from inside. The windows were also closed, said fire officials.

“Four bodies were found on the floor. They died because of smoke inhalation,” said Garg. The bodies also had burn injuries, fire and police officials said.

DCP Sathiyasundaram said a case of death by negligence under IPC section 304A was registered against unknown persons. Although no foul play is suspected so far, section 436 of the IPC has been added to probe if there was any mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy the house, he said.

The four-storey building where the fire broke out is built in a 25 square yard plot. The ground and the first floor belong to Sunil Kumar Dhingan, a relative of the family, and the second and third floors were occupied by Horilal and his family. The only entry-exit point through the stairs has an iron gate that was locked from inside, police said.

Futile attempts to escape

Akshay as well as some locals said that after the fire, they noticed marks on the room’s wooden door, suggesting that the victims made unsuccessful attempts to break it open.

They suspect that the family members fainted during the efforts due to the toxic fumes. Police also said that this may have been the case.

Sunder Pal, who lived on the second floor of a nearby building, first noticed the fire and alerted the neighbourhood. “We all began knocking the building’s iron gate and calling out names of Horilal’s family. Nobody responded initially and after a few minutes, Akshay came out on the second floor,” said Pal.

Another neighbour, Radhey Shyam, said Akshay then rushed to the third floor after being told about the fire but he could not open the door. Later, police and firefighters broke open the door and the victims were rushed to GTB hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead.