Four members of a family suffocated to death after a fire broke out due to short circuit in an inverter at their house in Dwarka’s Prem Nagar area on Tuesday early morning, officials said.
A Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official said the department was informed about the fire around 3.30 am and two fire tenders were sent to the spot.
The killed were identified as Heera Singh Kakkar (48), his wife Neetu (40) and their sons Robin (22) and Lakshay (21). Kakkar was a photographer by profession and the house was owned by the family, police said.
According to the DFS official, the fire erupted on the first floor of the two-storey house from a an inverter and it spread to an adjacent sofa, leading to the four victims inhaling smoke.
The firefighters had to cut through an iron gate, which was locked from inside, to enter the house, which hindered the operation, the officials of police and fire department said.
The flames were doused within a few minutes but there was a lot of smoke inside the house, the DFS official said.
The victims were taken to the Rao Tularam Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared them dead, the officials said.
Kakkar’s mother Sita Devi was sleeping on the ground floor of the building, a police officer said, adding that she was unharmed.
The bodies were shifted to a mortuary for postmortem. A case under relevant sections is being registered and further probe is underway, the police said.
Meanwhile, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Delhi BJP general secretary and West Delhi MP, also visited Prem Nagar to assess the situation and offered condolences to the family’s relatives.
Calling the incident “tragic”, Sehrawat promised to provide every possible assistance to the bereaved family.
Describing the incident, relatives of the family said they started hearing noises around 2.15 am from the house.
Kakkar’s brother Gurmeet, who stays in the adjacent flat, said, “I was sleeping when I heard the screaming voice of Heera. I tried to open the main gate of their house, which was locked from inside, but was unable to.” “With help of local residents, we called the police and fire bridge team. By the time they arrived, the family members had fallen unconscious and were found lying on the floor,” Gurmeet said.
He further said that the fire department took only five to seven minutes to douse the flames. Another relative of the family, who wished not to be named, said he got a call at about 2.30 am from Lakshay, who was screaming over the phone for help and informed him about the fire.
“By the time we reached the spot, they had all suffocated to death,” he added. According to a senior police officer, prima facie, the cause of the fire was due to a short circuit in the inverter. However, the actual reason will be ascertained once the probe is completed.
The officer said the police are conducting inquest proceedings as no wrongdoing has been found so far.
“A case may be registered if any foul play is revealed in the postmortem report or any other cause of fire is found in the probe,” the officer added.
