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3 children among 5 killed in pandal fire
Three children were among four people who succumbed to their burn injuries on Monday after a fire ripped through a Durga Puja pandal during the busy evening prayer hours in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi district, bringing the death toll in the tragedy to five.
Three children were among four people who succumbed to their burn injuries on Monday after a fire ripped through a Durga Puja pandal during the busy evening prayer hours in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi district, bringing the death toll in the tragedy to five.
Around 150 people were in the pandal in Bhadohi’s Nathua village during the Mahasaptami evening arati around 9.30pm on Sunday when a halogen light overheated and caused a fire, said Bhadohi superintendent of police Anil Kumar.
The materials used in the construction of the pandal -- polythene, polyester cloth, bamboo and paper -- were also inflammable, officials said. A 12-year-old boy died soon after the incident, said police, and another 64 people were injured.
A case was registered against the president of the Durga Puja organising committee Bachha Yadav for negligence, said Gaurang Rathi. Cases were also registered against other members of the committee.
“The cause of the fire was found to be the overheating of a halogen light. The report also stated that there was carelessness in the setting up of the electricity system in the pandal,” said Rathi.
“Jai Devi, 60, was declared dead on arrival late on Sunday night by the doctors at a hospital in Bhadohi. Four more people succumbed to burn injuries. Naveen Kumar, 10, son of Umesh Kumar died on Monday morning while undergoing treatment in Varanasi. Aarti Devi, 48, who was referred to the BHU Trauma Centre, died during treatment while eight-year-old Sujal alias Harshvardhan Kumar died in Bhadohi. Ankush Soni, 12, also died soon after the incident,” confirmed the DM.
“An FIR was lodged at Aurai police station against members of the puja samiti as negligence was found in organising the event. One person has been named in the FIR and the rest are unnamed,” said superintendent of police Anil Kumar.
The injured were undergoing treatment at the BHU Trauma Centre.
The FIR was lodged under sections 304A (causing death by negligence), 337 (whoever causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life etc) and 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 135 of the Electricity Act (supply and use of energy by non-licensees and others).
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the incident found that excessive use of halogen lights, which were covered with coloured paper, was the cause of the fire.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the loss of lives in the incident, his office said in a tweet. He also appealed to the committees associated with religious events, including Durga Puja, to fully comply with electrical and fire safety standards.
Three of the five victims belonged to the same family that lived in Barigaon village, which is around 600m from Nathua. “I never imagined that my family would be destroyed in one day,” said Rampati Gautam, 71, the senior-most family member who lost his wife Jay Devi and two grandchildren – Harshvardhan and Naveen Kumar – in the tragedy.
