A 30-year-old woman and her four-year-old son were burnt to death inside a car, in Whitefield, on Friday evening. The deceased are Neha Verma and Param.
Neha was at the wheel. She had returned from an outing with her son around 3.40 p.m. and parked her car at the designated spot in the basement parking lot of their apartment complex.
Shortly after that, security guards heard a loud blast. When they ran to the parking area, they saw a car engulfed in flames. At that time, they did not realise that Neha and Param were trapped inside, said the police.
Fire and emergency personnel, who were barely 3 km away, arrived within six minutes. It was only after the fire was put out did they find the charred remains of the mother and son.
"Security guards tried to douse the flames by throwing water on the burning vehicle, but it was of no use. They could not go near the car. Our personnel reached the spot a few minutes after receiving an alert around 3.50 p.m.,” said a fire department official.
Police are investigating the cause of the fire. “An FSL team went to the spot to collect evidence. We will wait for their report,” said a police officer.
Over 100 families live in Sumadhura Apartment Complex where the incident took place. “CCTVs are installed at the entry of the parking lot, and we will go through the footage.”
Neha was a home-maker. Her husband, Rajesh, is a businessman who was at work when the incident took place, said the police.
