Father-daughter duo charred in east Delhi blaze

A 48-year-old tailor and his daughter were killed and his son injured after a fire broke out at their house in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri today morning.

A 48-year-old tailor and his daughter were killed and his son injured after a fire broke out at their house in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri on Tuesday morning.

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Police said while the father-daughter duo was badly charred, the third victim lost consciousness due to suffocation when he attempted to save his father and sister.

The incident was reported around 7.30am from Block-15 in Kalyanpuri where the victims lived in their two-storey house. The deceased were identified as Tara Chand and his daughter Meenakshi, 19, a BA first-year student of Delhi University.

Chand’s son Hukum Chand, 23, who was injured in the incident, was undergoing treatment at Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital. Though the exact reason could not be ascertained, police suspect a short circuit as the possible cause of fire.

Police initially believed that the blaze originated from the kitchen because of a leakage from the cooking gas cylinder. But when a team of the forensic team inspected the house, they found the gas cylinder intact.

A senior police officer said Chand lived on the ground floor with his wife Krishna Devi and daughter Meenakshi, while the first floor was occupied by his sons Hukum Chand and Kukki, 21. The second floor has been rented.

Two days ago, Chand’s wife was admitted due to her failing health in the same hospital where her son is recovering now. On Tuesday morning, younger son Kukki prepared tea in the kitchen on the ground floor and left for the hospital to meet his mother.

"A few minutes later, a fire broke out on the ground floor and the father-daughter got trapped. His son Hukum Chand and tenant Lal Ram rushed to help but failed," said the senior officer. Neighbours called the police and the fire tenders to douse the blaze.