Navratri diya led to massive fire in Mumbai slum killing seven of a family

The fire started in the Guptas’ ground-floor puja room and spread to their adjoining kirana shop, where 25 litres of kerosene were stored

MUMBAI: Illegally stored kerosene and a Navratri diya lit inside a home temple caused a major fire in a ground-plus-two slum structure without a fire escape in Chembur East. Seven members of the Gupta family, who lived in the house at Siddharth Nagar, were killed when the blaze erupted at around 4.45 am on Sunday and rapidly spread upwards.

Siddharth Colony is part of a slum rehabilitation project that hit a roadblock at the consent stage in 2021. The narrow lanes of the slum made it difficult for the fire brigade to reach the area. The fire tenders had to be parked at a distance and the water hoses extended to carry out the firefighting operation from afar. (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

The fire started in the Guptas’ ground-floor puja room and spread to their adjoining kirana shop, where 25 litres of kerosene were stored. Flames and smoke engulfed the building, reaching the first floor by 5 am.

Seven members of the family—Manju Prem Gupta (30), Prem Chediram Gupta(30), Anita Dharmdev Gupta (39), Gitadevi Gupta (60), Presi Prem Gupta (6), Narendra Gupta (10), and Vidhi Chediram Gupta (15) were all killed in the fire. They were declared dead on arrival at Rajawadi Hospital.

Two members of the family—Dharam Dev Gupta (45) and his father Chediram Gupta (70)—managed to escape after Chediram, who got up to go to the toilet downstairs, saw the flames and raised an alarm. “He screamed out to his son, and they were able to get out,” said Neelam Chaurasia, a neighbour. Chediram, in a state of shock, was taken to a neighbour’s home but was not informed about the casualties in his family.

Darpan S, one of the rescuers, said, “We helped extricate the family members almost as soon as the fire began. But by the time we reached the tin roof, it had already spread to the first floor. Unfortunately, many people had already inhaled a lot of smoke by then.”

Vanita Gupta, Chediram’s daughter who lives in Vakola, rushed to the scene after hearing from a friend at 6.30 am that her parents’ home had caught fire. She learned of the enormity of the fatalities only later. “I heard that my chhoti bhabhi had expired but I was unaware that the others had too,” she said. Karan Lalchand Gupta, Manju’s father, shared his grief, saying, “The smoke was so intense that they inhaled it and died.”

Ravindra Ambulgekar, chief fire officer, confirmed that the illegal storage of kerosene intensified the blaze. “There were around 25 litres of kerosene,” he said. “The diya fell, igniting the wood, and the kerosene fuelled the fire. There was no escape route for residents, as there was only one point of entry and exit.”

Vishwas Mote, assistant commissioner of M West ward, told HT that a detailed investigation was underway. Siddharth Colony is part of a slum rehabilitation project that hit a roadblock at the consent stage in 2021. The narrow lanes of the slum made it difficult for the fire brigade to reach the area. The fire tenders had to be parked at a distance and the water hoses extended to carry out the firefighting operation from afar. The fire was extinguished at 9.15am.

CM announces ₹5 lakh aid for victims’ families

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹5 lakh for the families of those killed in the Siddharth Nagar fire. He also gave an assurance that the injured would receive free treatment at government hospitals.

During his visit to the accident site, CM Shinde met the affected families and promised full support. He also ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident to prevent future accidents. Union minister Ramdas Athawale, guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, former MP Rahul Shewale and officials accompanied the CM during the inspection.