3-yr-old dies of burns from fire in brazier
POLICE SAID THE MOTHER OF THE BOY POURED THINNER ON THE BURNING WOOD
NEW DELHI : A three-year-old boy died of burns and three members of his family hospitalised when they were sitting around a brazier (angithi) at their home in outer Delhi’s Begumpur on Friday afternoon, police said.
Since the flame was low, the boy’s mother poured thinner, an inflammable liquid, into the burning wood. Suddenly, there was burst of fire, leaving the four members of the family with severe burns.
While the boy, Ishan, died before he could be moved to a hospital, his six-year-old sister, mother and aunt continue to remain admitted at Lok Nayak Hospital. Police said the victims have received 25% -40% burns, but are likely to survive.
Ishan lived with his parents, elder sister and other relatives in Begumpur’s Krishna Colony. “Ishan’s father paints houses for a living. Their house had a lot of painting material. Thinner was one of them,” said an investigator not authorised to speak to the media.
The cold winds on Friday compelled the family to light a brazier using coal on their terrace. “Since the wood was not producing the blaze they would have wanted, Ishan’s mother thought of using the inflammable thinner kept at their house,” said the officer.
“The family had been using thinner for lighting fire, but on Friday she probably poured a lot of the liquid into the flames. As a consequence, all the four persons surrounding the brazier received burns from the flames that suddenly burst out,” said the officer.
Hearing their cries, neighbours rushed to the terrace to douse the flames. “The boy had his face over the brazier at the time of the accident and he received the most burns. Locals rushed them to the nearby Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital where the boy was declared brought dead. The other three were referred to Lok Nayak Hospital after first aid,” said the officer.
While police said there was no foul play, they were seeking legal opinion on whether or not to file a FIR in this connection. The three survivors were not fit for statement until Friday night, police said.