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7 killed in fire at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar; one booked
Seven family members, including three women, died in a fire at a tailoring shop in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Police suspect an electric vehicle caused the blaze.
At least seven members of a family, including three women, two men and two children, died due to suffocation after a major fire erupted at a tailoring shop at Dana Bazar cantonment area, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The incident occurred at around 4 am on Wednesday, said police.
The deceased have been identified as Hamida Begum (50); her two sons Wasim Sheikh (30) and Sohel Sheikh (35), daughters-in-law Tanveer (23) and Reshma (22), and grandchildren Asim (3) and Pari (3).
The fire erupted on the ground floor of the building where the tailoring shop and other commercial establishments were located while 16 people were residing in the three-storey building.
Police and fire brigade teams rushed to the spot and rescued at least four to five people.
Manoj Lohiya, police commissioner, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said, “Seven people have lost their life due to suffocation. They were residing on the second floor of the building.’’
Police said they received a call at the control room at around 4am stating an electric vehicle, parked near the building, caught fire while charging. The fire spread to the cloth shop nearby and further engulfed the entire building.
After the incident, police registered an accidental death case and asked for details from Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). Till late evening police registered a case against the owner of the tailoring shop.
Mahendra Deshmukh, assistant commissioner of police, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said a case is registered against owner of the tailoring shop Sheikh Aslam Sheikh Yunus (53).
“As per prima facia it seems that, he used house hold electric connection for commercial use, hence it resulted in the fire incident,” he said.
Imtiaz Jaleel, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar MP, meanwhile, alleged that late response from the fire brigade is responsible for the casualties.
“People complained that there was a late response from the fire brigade team. Also, they were not well equipped. I will talk to municipal and police commissioner regarding this and request them to take necessary action if anybody found guilty,’’ he said.
The bodies were shifted to government hospital for autopsy and handed over to relatives.
