A photographer, his wife and two of their children in Delhi's Dwarka died after suffocating in a fire that broke out at their house due to a short circuit in an inverter in the wee hours of Tuesday, June 25.
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 deceased were identified as Heera Singh Kakkar (48), his wife Neetu (40) and their sons Robin (22) and Lakshay (21), news agency PTI quoted police as saying.
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 told PTI.
While flames were doused within a few minutes, there was a lot of smoke inside the house, the DFS official said.
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.
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.
Kamaljeet Sehrawat, general secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi unit and West Delhi MP, also visited Prem Nagar to assess the situation and offered condolences to the family's kin.
Sehrawat termed the incident tragic and vowed to provide every possible assistance to the bereaved family.
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 foul play 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 said.
