Two children and a couple were killed after a massive fire broke out in a residential building in Shastri Nagar area of Shahdara on Thursday morning, the police said.
The deceased persons have been identified as Manoj, 30, Suman, 25, and their two nieces, aged 10 and 7.
Eleven others suffered burn injuries in the fire, suspected to be caused by sparks flying from electrical wires, the police added. A car and a motorcycle were also damaged in the incident. The police said they received information about the incident at 5.20 a.m. and nine fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.
DCP (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary said, “As per the preliminary observation by the forensic team, sparks in wires may be the reason behind the fire.”
The police said the building where the fire broke out has four floors and a car parking area.
They said the fire started from the parking lot and the smoke soon engulfed the entire building.
“Fire department officials managed to reach the spot on time and douse the flames even though the streets were narrow,” the DCP said.
Flames block exit
Eyewitnesses said since the building entrance was blocked by the leaping flames, some residents ran to the terrace and then jumped onto the roofs of adjacent buildings to save their lives. An eyewitness said the firefighters doused the flames in no time but due to the smoke and fire in the main exit area, people could not leave the building immediately.
The DCP said those injured were sent to Dr. Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan Hospital in Karkardooma. The police said they received information from the hospital that four of them have died. Later, four of the severely injured persons — Rakesh Kumar,34, Baby 32, Nandu, 25, and two-year-old Iafra — were referred to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
An FIR under Sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 304A (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees or upwards) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against unidentified persons.
