Three women were killed while two others sustained injures in a fire that broke out in a residential building in Chandigarh, the police said on Saturday.
The police said a preliminary enquiry has revealed that the fire broke out due to short circuit in the house in sector 32 D, where a paying guest accommodation was being run.
“The deceased have been identified as Riya, of Kapurthala in Punjab; Pakshi, from Kotkapura in Punjab and Muskan of Hisar in Haryana. The incident occurred at 3.45 p.m., ” said a police statement.
The women, aged between 19 and 22 years, were staying as paying guests on the first floor of the building.
“A case has been registered under Sections 304, 188, 34 and 336 of the IPC and the investigation was under way. We will seek a report from the civil administration about whether the PG was complying with rules and procedures,” said Chandigarh Superintendent of Police Vineet Kumar.
Station Fire Officer Lal Bahadur said four fire tenders were pressed into service and it took 10-15 minutes to put out the fire. He added that one of the women saved herself by jumping from the first floor.
“There was very low visibility because of smoke and fire,” Mr. Bahadur said. “Two women were found unconscious in a room and another with burn injuries was found in another room.”
Two injured
With the blaze engulfing the first floor of the house, it was a difficult task for the fire fighters to take the women out of the room.
Two women were admitted to a hospital and they are out of danger, Mr. Kumar said.
According to neighbours, around 25-30 women were staying at the PG. At the time of the incident, most of them were out of the PG, the police said.
(With inputs from PTI)
