Mother, daughter charred to death in west Delhi blaze

Two women, including a 78-year-old widow, were charred to death in a blaze at their residence in west Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officials said.

Two women, including a 78-year-old widow, were charred to death in a blaze at their residence in west Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officials said.

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Identified as Swaran Kaur and her daughter, Balbir, 53, the women, DFS officials said, were alone at their two-storey house at Mansarovar Garden's J 2 block when the fire broke out at 3:42 pm.

"The women were on the first floor when the blaze, probably triggered by a short circuit, erupted on the floor above them. A neighbour realised that a fire had broken out when the mother-daughter duo started screaming for help and informed us," a DFS official said.

DFS officials said two fire tenders were rushed to the spot and were able to douse the blaze within half an hour. An examination of the premises revealed the charred remains of the mother and daughter.

A mother of six, Swaran Kaur used to stay in a two-storey house -- which has two rooms located on the ground floor and a single room on the first-- with her sons Devender and Dayal, both of whom work at the neighbourhood gurudwara, police said.

"According to their neighbours, Balbir was somewhat mentally-challenged. It is quite possible that the mother and daughter couldn't escape in time given that fact," an officer said.

Both her sons were away when the fire broke out. Swaran has three other daughters - all of whom are married and stay in different parts of Delhi. The precise reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.