Three charred to death in Himachal fire incidents
DHARAMSHALA: Two children were killed when a fire broke out in a house at Panjun village of Sungal panchayat in Chamba district on Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased have been identified as Ishu, 5, and Vikas, 7, sons of Pappu Kumar.
“The fire started from a storeroom of the house where the kids were playing and soon engulfed the entire house. The villagers had rushed to the spot and tried to douse the flames but could not save the kids,” said Chamba additional superintendent of police (ASP) Raman Sharma.
Although the exact case of fire is yet to be ascertained, villagers say the dry fodder kept in the storeroom for the cattle could be responsible for spreading the flames. The family members were not at home at the time of the incident.
Fire tenders were rushed to the spot from Chamba fire station and a rescue team comprising police personnel and home guards was also dispatched, the ASP said. Chamba deputy commissioner Harikesh Meena and sub-divisional magistrate Deepti Mandhotra also arrived at the spot. “It took two hours for the firefighters to douse the flames. The bodies of the deceased have been handed over to the kind
The district administration provided an ex-gratia relief of ₹20,000 to the affected family.
In another incident, a 24-yearold man was killed after a fire broke out at a roadside kiosk in Shimla’s Chalaunthi locality on Wednesday morning.
The deceased has been identified as Mohan Singh, a resident of Nepal. He was working as a waiter at Fauji Dhaba here and was putting up at the kiosk adjacent to the Dhaba. Around 4 am, the Dhaba owner Amar Chand Rathor had received information of fire at his Dhaba following which he along with his wife rushed to the spot.
“The fire had engulfed the Dhaba shed along with the kiosk by the time the owner reached the spot. The firefighters, who had already arrived at the spot, broke open the iron door of the kiosk and found the victim dead,” police said. Meanwhile, Dhali police team had also reached the spot besides deputy superintendent of Police Dinesh Sharma and Naib tehsildar H L Bhesta. “A probe was launched to ascertain the cause of fire. It was also found that the deceased was addicted to smoking and drinking. Investigations are on,” police said. A case was registered.