Charger snag starts fire in flat, BPO worker dies

A 32-year-old BPO employee was found dead in his Ghaziabad flat Tuesday morning with his laptop, mobile and bed all burnt, Peeyush Khandelwal reports.

A 32-year-old BPO employee was found dead in his Ghaziabad flat Tuesday morning with his laptop, mobile and bed all burnt.

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The police, who were called in after guards saw smoke emanating from the fourth floor apartment in Indirapuram's Shipra Krishna Vista, suspect that either the laptop or the mobile - both were found on the bed - caught fire after a short-circuit.

Pranav Sanyal, who worked with the technical department of a Noida BPO, might have died due to asphyxiation, the police said.

It appeared that he was charging either the mobile or the laptop that led to a short-circuit and then the fire, superintendent of police JK Shahi said. "It looks like one of the gadgets developed some snag and caught fire," he said. The room's switch board too was burnt.

A police team, which broke open the door, found Sanyal lying dead on the floor and his laptop and mobile reduced to a molten heap of plastic. His bed and blanket, too, were all ashes.

"He probably suffocated to death in the locked room as he couldn't get out," said a police officer, who didn't wish to be identified. "He seemed to be in a deep sleep, all covered up in a blanket." Sanyal, who shared the flat with his brother was alone in the house.