Seven charred to death in fire after man sets ex-partner’s scooter ablaze
BHOPAL: Seven people were charred to death and nine others were injured after a 28-year-old man allegedly set ablaze his former partner’s two-wheeler, triggering a massive fire in a threestorey residential building in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district on Saturday morning, police said. The woman has sustained injuries in the incident and her condition is said to be stable.
According to the police, accused Shubham Dixit alias Sanjay stayed in the same building and moved out after the woman broke up with him a few weeks ago. The woman recently got engaged to another man, an official added. On Saturday morning, Dixit allegedly torched the woman’s two-wheeler parked in the Swarnbagh colony, and the flames soon engulfed the entire building, said a police official.
“In the absence of a fire alarm, the fire spread to the parked vehicles, rapidly burning down the whole building. Building owner Insaaf Patel and Shubham Dixit have been absconding since the incident,” said Indore commissioner of police, HN Mishra.
Police checked at least 100 CCTV cameras and found out that Dixit came to the building at around 2.30 pm and was seen setting a scooty on fire. Dixit will be booked on charges of murder, and a search team has been formed to nab him, an official added.
Mishra said four of the residents were burnt alive while three suffocated to death in the incident. The deceased include Ishwar Singh Sisodia (45) and his wife Neetu Sisodia (45), Ashish (30), Gaurav (28) and Akanksha (25). Two more victims, between the ages of 40 and 45, have not been identified yet, he added.
One of the residents, Vinod Solanki, jumped off the building and sustained serious injuries while two students, Tushar and Vinit, jumped to the roof of an adjoining building to save their lives. Two women came out of the building with the help of a rope. They are currently undergoing treatment.
Residents, however, have accused the police and the fire brigade of a late response. “We called the police and fire brigade repeatedly but the police arrived 40 minutes later while the fire brigade at least 50 minutes,” said Bheru Singh Sisodiya, brother of deceased Ishwar Singh Sisodia.
District collector Manish Singh said a probe has been ordered into the incident. “The entire Swarnbagh colony is illegal. We are also registering a case against the owner Insaaf Patel for not following all the norms,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan offered their condolences. The state government has also announced ex gratia of ₹4 lakh for the kin of the deceased.