A 35-year-old realtor was killed and his friend, a French woman, injured after a fire broke out in a building in South Delhi’s Hauz Khas village on Wednesday.
The deceased, Gaurav Dhamija, was a native of Karnal in Haryana. He owned a realty firm in Delhi and lived in a rented accommodation in Hauz Khas. The 23-year-old French woman, Anklora, is pursuing an internship programme from a university in Haryana.
Dhamija is believed to have died of asphyxiation. Anklora, meanwhile, is recuperating at a hospital after she lost consciousness. Dhamija’s pet was also injured.
ADVERTISEMENT
Suspecting the blaze to have been triggered by a short-circuit; officials said a hut-like structure on the terrace of the house fuelled the fire.
According to neighbours, Dhamija had been living here for two years and frequently had guests over — Anklora being one of them. The two-floor house has a café on the ground floor, while Dhamija lived on the first floor.
ADVERTISEMENT
Neighbours reported the fire around 5.30 a.m. “I raised an alarm after seeing flames coming from the first floor of the house. Since the fire was massive, we were unable to enter,” said Salim, a local.
The fire department reached the outskirts of the village quickly, but took an hour to reach the spot due to the congested lanes.
“The fire tenders were unable to make inroads easily because of cars parked all along. Some fire tenders had to return because of the congestion. The fire was doused within an hour, but the cooling process took another hour,” said a senior fire officer.
Police said that though they do not suspect any foul play, they would probe how the house went up in flames.