Moving SUV catches fire, occupant charred to death

LUCKNOW: A 28-year-old construction material supplier was charred to death when his newly purchased SUV turned into a fireball due to some technical glitch in Kakori area on the city outskirts on Wednesday night.

The incident took place on Kaliyakheda village road in Kakori when the deceased, identified as Rajni Kant Dubey, was going to attend a party at his friend’s place in the SUV (UP32 JH 0718). He had purchased the SUV in November last year.

The deceased’s body was burnt so badly that his younger brother Anshu Dubey found it difficult to ascertain its identity. The identity was later ascertained with the help of belongings found inside the burnt SUV. The vehicle too was entirely burnt in the mishap.

District police spokesman inspector Arun Singh said the initial probe suggested that the moving SUV caught fire due to some technical fault and the deceased got trapped inside the vehicle as it was centrally locked.

He said the struggle marks on the deceased’s body suggested that he tried to open the lock but was unsuccessful. He said the probe so far hinted towards accidental fire but further investigations were on in the matter. A local villager, Alok Kumar, said a group of villagers tried to douse the flames after spotting Dubey trapped inside. He added that the villagers threw water on the vehicle while some called the fire service control room but failed to rescue Dubey.

Dubey left his rented house in South City under PGI area at around 9pm and the mishap took place after he travelled for over 30 kilometers, told his brother.

He added that his family members got worried when Dubey did not return till late night. “We came to know about the incident when the police approached us after getting the address from the vehicle’s registration number,” he said.