Gurgaon: Six-year-old boy killed in slum fire in DLF Phase-1

Officials identified the victim as Farman. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Fire officials suspect the fire took place owing to a leakage in an LPG cylinder.

A six-year-old boy died in a fire which broke out at a slum area near Sikanderpur marble market in DLF Phase-1 in the wee hours of Monday. Around 105 huts were gutted in the fire.

Fire officials suspect the fire took place owing to a leakage in an LPG cylinder.(HT Photo/Sanjeev Verma)

Officials identified the victim as Farman (6). The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Fire department officials suspect the fire was caused by a a leakage in an LPG cylinder but they did not rule out the possibility of sabotage.

The incident took place less than a week after a fire gutted over 75 shanties in the same slum on Friday.

Officials said a lot of damage was caused due to small gas cylinders that caused 25 to 30 explosions during the fire.

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There are over 800 shanties in this slum built over a period of 40 years on MCG land and migrant labourers from Bengal, UP, Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan live there. Most of them work in DLF condominiums and malls or work in the construction industry as daily wagers.

The slum residents told HT that fire started from a hut on the lower side and spread like wildfire as a strong wind was blowing at the time. “None of us could understand what happened and everyone ran to safety. No one could save anything except their lives,” said Kaleshwar Paswan, a migrant from Bihar.

Around 105 huts were gutted in the fire. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Construction workers’ union leader Rajender, visited the spot and demanded judicial inquiry into the incident. “We demand inquiry as well as compensation to the family of the deceased and others who suffered losses”, said Saroha.

A team of district administration led by Naurang Rai, tehsildar, Gurgaon also reached the spot to asses the situation. “We are providing food, water and medical facilities to the victims. And all measures would be taken to help them,” he said.

Devender Singh, SHO DLF Phase-1 police station, said the police are investigating the incident and a crime team would also visit the spot.