Six members of a family, including four children, were killed in a fire that broke out under mysterious circumstances inside their house at Zakir Nagar in South East Delhi on Wednesday night.
The family was staying in a one-room rented flat that shared a common wall with a neighbour. However, no one in the neighbourhood heard any screams from the family members. It was only after people saw smoke and smelt something burning that they realised that a fire had broken out.
According to the police, the incident took place around 12-30 a.m. when all the family members were fast asleep. One of the neighbours who saw smoke coming out of the house tried to break the door to rescue the inmates. However, by the time the flames were put out, three family members were already dead.
Feroz Alam (35) stayed with his wife, Yasmin (30), and four children -- Afrin (12), Afroz (9), Aamir (8) and Aasif (5) in the house.
While Feroz, his wife and three children were declared dead in the morning, Aasif, who had suffered 45 per cent burns, succumbed to his injuries at Safdarjung Hospital in the evening.
Naeem, a neighbour, who noticed the fire and tried to rescue the family members, said: “I did not hear any screams. I tried to break open the door and called out for Feroz. Other neighbours also joined me and we tried to douse the fire by throwing in buckets of water through the window and the gaps in the door. Finally, when the fire was completely doused by the fire tenders, three persons were found dead inside the house. Three others who were conscious were taken to Safdarjung Hospital.”
When the door was broken open, the police found cans of combustible material inside the house. Investigators are examining the possibility of someone from the family setting the house on fire after sedating other members as no screams were heard by anybody.
“The case is being investigated from all possible angles. Foul play or deliberate fire from someone inside the house has not been ruled out yet. Further investigations are under way,” said a senior police officer.
Feroz owned a small-time embroidery business in nearby Okhla. His brother, Parvez Alam, had earlier unsuccessfully fought the civic elections on a Rashtriya Janata Dal ticket.
