Woman charred to death in Sohna after house catches fire

They said that the incident took place near the wholesale vegetable market of Sohna where the deceased, identified as Kasturi Devi, lived alone

Gurugram:

The elderly woman’s partially charred body was found inside the house after the flames were doused. (Representational Photo)

A 75-year-old woman was charred to death when her house in Sohna caught fire early on Saturday morning, police said.

They said that the incident took place near the wholesale vegetable market of Sohna where the deceased, identified as Kasturi Devi, lived alone.

Investigators said that it was at about 2am when the police control room received an alert about an explosion in the market area after which police teams and fire fighters rushed to the spot.

Sandeep Kumar, public relations officer of the Gurugram Police, said that the woman’s house inside the market was on fire and was doused by two fire tenders. Her partially charred body was found in the house.

“The explosion inside the house was actually from a cooking cylinder which led to the fire. It was this explosion which woke up a few employees asleep inside neighbouring shops who rang up their owners and the police control room,” he said.

Prima facie, police suspect a gas leakage may have taken place from the cylinder inside the house resulting in the fire and the explosion that killed the woman. No other neighbouring shop was damaged in the fire, they said. Investigators said that the deceased woman’s family members also live in Sohna.

They said that Satyabir Kumar, one of the grandsons of the deceased woman, submitted a written complaint denying any foul play on the basis of which an inquiry under Section 194 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was being carried out. The body was handed over to the family after an autopsy on Saturday.