Hours after three-year-old Aishwarya died in the fire accident due to suspected short circuit in the airconditioning unit in her R.T. Nagar house on Monday, her father and mother, who had sustained severe burn injuries, succumbed on Tuesday.
Aishwarya’s father, Shivarudrappa (32), a cab driver, and mother Veena (27), a homemaker, were admitted to Victoria Hospital along with their daughter following the fire in their house in Mathadahalli on Monday. Aishwarya, who sustained third degree burns, died late on Monday.
According to the police, Shivarudrappa, returned home from work in the afternoon and switched on the AC, which reportedly exploded due to a short circuit, resulting in the fire that engulfed the house.
Shivarudrappa had got the airconditioner, a TV and other electronic gadgets as gift from a foreign national a few days ago for whom he worked as a driver.
Neighbours rushed to their help and pulled the trio out of the house, while others alerted the fire and emergency services and the police.
The fire tenders and police rushed to the spot and doused the fire, but the arrival of the ambulance was delayed. “So, we immediately arranged a car and shifted the three of them to Victoria Hospital”, said Nataraj, a neighbour.
Shivarudrappa’s sister Parvathi said she saw a crowd outside her brother’s house while she was on the way to the bank. “I reached their house and saw the family members made to lie down outside the house. They were severely burnt and I did not know how to react.”
Shivarudrappa’s elder daughter Ashwini was at the school when the incident took place. “Fortunately Ashwini was in school, if not we would have lost her also in the incident. Now the only member of the family surviving is my granddaughter,” said Nanjundappa, Shivarudrappa’s father.
The police have registered a case and are investigating to ascertain the cause for the fire.
