Twenty-five-year-old Ravikant Prasad was supposed to be on horseback and getting married on Wednesday evening in the presence of loved ones. Instead, he was battling for life at Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday.
On Monday night, Ravikant lost his mother, younger brother, two aunts and a minor cousin after a fire broke out in his jhuggi in Okhla Phase-I.
Nine people were affected by the fire, including Ravikant, his parents Usha and Surender Prasad, brother Shashikant, maternal aunts Santra and Lalsa, six-year-old cousin Khushi, maternal uncle Guddu and cousin Jitendra Kumar. They were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital and ESI Hospital after the incident.
Cylinder issue
Jitendra, who had come for the wedding from the village two days ago, is the only injured person to be discharged from the hospital. Sitting on a charpoy with bandaged limbs on Tuesday, he recalled the horrific fire.
“The women were cooking on a stove outside the jhuggi when the cylinder got finished. There was a spare cylinder inside the jhuggi and we pushed it towards the entrance. We opened the cylinder knob and a fire broke out because the stove was still lit,” he recalled, adding that the flames leapt in the direction of the jhuggi, where Ravikant’s mother Usha, his two aunts and six-year-old cousin were sitting.
Usha’s daughter and Ravikant’s sister, 18-year-old Renu, is still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.
“My mother and aunts had gone shopping for wedding clothes on Monday afternoon. They were putting everything in the trunk when the fire broke out,” she said weeping.
Renu said her 20-year-old brother Shashikant rushed in to rescue them but got stuck inside.
“He went to help them but couldn’t come out because the wooden entrance was on fire. Shashikant and Khushi died on the spot. My mother and aunts succumbed to injuries half-an-hour after they reached the hospital . My father, uncle, and brother Ravikant are still in the hospital. Their condition is critical,” added Renu, a second-year B.A. student. Shashikant was also a second-year B.A. student.
‘Late response’
The neighbours had rushed to the jhuggi and attempted to douse the fire. Someone had also called up the police and the fire department. However, the fire tender allegedly arrived late.
“We called up the Fire Department and the police at the same time but no one picked up at the Fire control room. The police reached immediately and called the fire station. They came after 45 minutes,” alleged Deepak Kumar, a neighbour.
The Okhla fire station is located barely 1-km away from the spot.
Waiting for the bodies, the relatives sat outside the jhuggi recalling the festivities over the past three days. Looking at the turmeric stains on the floor, Kasturi, the groom’s paternal aunt, said, “ Kal sham ko to haldi lagai thi. Hum sab geet gaa rahe they jab aag lagi [The haldi ceremony was held on Monday evening. We were singing when the fire broke out]”.
Usha ran a tea stall in front of the jhuggi, where broken soft drinks bottles could be seen lying around. The father and brothers have two pick-up vehicles used to ferry goods for delivery companies.
The police have registered a case under Sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire) and 304A (causing death due to negligence).
