Couple that left brazier on in their room, found dead in Kapashera

A couple, who had lit a brazier (angithi) in their room to keep themselves warm, was found dead on Tuesday morning in south-west Delhi’s Kapashera , police said

A couple, who had lit a brazier (angithi) in their room to keep themselves warm, was found dead on Tuesday morning in south-west Delhi’s Kapashera , police said on Wednesday. The couple’s three children, who were sleeping in another room, survived.

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Ingit Pratap Singh, deputy commissioner of police (south-west), said that prima facie the couple seem to have died of asphyxiation from carbon monoxide produced from the brazier. “There were no external injury marks on their bodies or ligature marks on their necks to suggest any foul play,” said the DCP.

The officer identified the couple as Ram Parvesh, 38, and his 34-year-old wife, Kavita. They lived in Samalkha in Kapashera, where Parvesh ran a grocery store.

“The couple had been living here for the last 15 years with their three children — a daughter aged 12 years old and two sons, who are seven and five years old,” said the DCP.

The police received a call about their deaths around 8am on Tuesday morning.

“Usually, the couple woke up before 7am and went about their work. But when they didn’t wake up by 8 am on Wednesday, their daughter knocked on their door and received no response,” said another police officer who didn’t want to be identified.

Their daughter then called a relative for help, after which the police were informed.

The police then broke into the room and found the couple lying unresponsive. They were rushed to a hospital where they were declared brought dead.

This is the first known case this year of death due to asphyxiation from a braziers. Delhi police on Wednesday advised citizens to avoid using braziers in rooms at night while sleeping or urged them to keep their windows open for the smoke to escape.