A major fire broke out in a three-storey building at Giri Colony in Vidisha killing five members of a family including a six-month-old infant in the wee hours on Monday.
At around 4 am a massive fire broke out at the grocery shop at ground floor of the three storey building and soon engulfed the upper floors.The shop was at the ground floor while the first floor was used as a godown and the family used to live at the second floor of the building.
Around 5 am fire tender vehicles were rushed to the spot from Bhopal, Sehore and Raisen but still it took more than 9 hours for the fire tenders to pacify the fire which took an enormous shape. House owner Chandra Pal Arora died in the mishap while his wife Meena Arora, their son Jatin Arora his wife Poonam Arora and his 6-month-old child also died in the incident.
Police and fire brigade officials have told that fire broke out due to short circuit and spread quickly due to a large number of containers of Oil and Ghee which were kept in the godown at the first floor which made the task of pacifying the fire and rescuing the victims but before they could be rescued they were burnt alive and charred bodies were recovered.
The residents of the locality came to know about the fire after a huge explosion which occurred due to lPG cylinder blast and informed the fire brigade.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the spot and expressed sadness on the appalling incident. Chouhan told that he would request election commission to allow him to provide help to the family.
Superintendent of police Vidisha Dharmendra Choudhary said that the fire was caused in the grocery store due to a short circuit in which businessman Chandrapal Arora and his four family members including an infant were burnt alive. The locals were infuriated with the delay of fire brigades in reaching the spot which could have saved the lives of the victims.