E-Paper
Pune: Man falls asleep in hotel room while smoking, dies of suffocation
The incident was reported from a hotel in Somwar Peth which the deceased - identified as Mohit Bhupendra Shah
A man, 32, died of suffocation after a fire broke out in his hotel room as he fell asleep while smoking a cigarette that set his mattress and wooden cot alight. Thick smoke quickly engulfed the room as its doors and windows were shut, leading to the man dying of suffocation.
The incident was reported from a hotel in Somwar Peth which the deceased - identified as Mohit Bhupendra Shah, 32 - checked into Thursday afternoon. According to the police, Shah - a resident of Pravin Building, Shivaji Chowk, Daund - was employed with a chartered accountant in Pune, had been battling alcohol addiction, and was reportedly distressed following his divorce. Thursday afternoon, Shah checked into a hotel near Maldhakka Chowk in Somwar Peth along with his friend Swapnil Gambhire, a resident of Narhe. As Shah was inebriated, Gambhire arranged for him to stay in room number 14 before leaving the hotel.
Later that night, while under the influence of alcohol, Shah is believed to have fallen asleep while smoking even as the burning cigarette caused a fire to break out in the room. According to fire brigade officials, they received a fire call on Friday at around 12.15 pm. The officials and the hotel staff managed to douse the fire but Shah was found dead inside the room with his right hand partially burned.
Prashant Gaikar, fire officer, said, “Fire was reported in room number 14 of the hotel. Hotel staffers managed to douse the fire before we reached there.”
Deputy commissioner of police (zone 1), Krushikesh Rawale, said, “Prima facie, it seems that the victim died of suffocation in the hotel room as the doors and windows were closed.”
The authorities have registered a case of accidental death at Samarth police station, and are verifying the exact sequence of events leading up to the tragedy.
