Boy burnt alive as fire engulfs 33 houses in Bahraich

BAHRAICH: A four-year-old boy was burnt alive and thirty three houses were gutted when a fire broke out in village Majhra under Murtiha Kotwali limits in Bahraich on Friday afternoon.

District magistrate Ajay Deep Singh visited the village and handed over cheque of ₹7900 each to 33 affected families on Saturday.

According to sources, a fire broke out in a house in the village around 2 pm on Friday.

Strong wind fanned the flames from one hut to another and soon 33 houses were engulfed in flames.

Four-year-old Mahesh, son of Chhaila, was burnt alive in the fire.

On being informed, ADM Suresh Verma, SDM Motipur Kunwar Virendra Maurya, Tehsildar Rajesh Mishra, SHO Murthita Shesh Mani Pandey and other administrative officials rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation.

Fire squads were also pressed into service that took several hours to douse the flames. Police took the body of the boy and sent it for a postmortem examination.

SDM Virendra Maurya said fire broke out in a house during cooking.

He said all possible help like food, mosquito net, plastic sheets, was being provided to the affected people, adding that the postmortem of the boy had been completed and a cheque of ₹4 lakh would be given to the deceased’s family after verification.

District magistrate Ajay Deep Singh, who visited the village on Saturday, asked the concerned authorities to facilitate the fire victims and any kind of laxity in relief work would not be tolerated.