Couple, toddler charred to death in fire near Budh Vihar
A couple and their two-year-old daughter were charred to death after a massive fire tore through a small cluster of shanties near Mange Ram Park in northwest Delhi’s Budh Vihar area in the early hours of Wednesday. While five people managed to escape the fire, according to police, neighbours said a roof collapse hampered the couple’s attempt to save their child, and the lock on the door kept them trapped.
According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), a call was received at 1.25 am, following which seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot. High flames and thick smoke engulfed four temporary huts that housed around seven people who collected scrap.
Police said a PCR call was also received at the Budh Vihar police station regarding the incident.
Firefighters later recovered three charred bodies from the debris. The deceased were identified as Mosibur Dastagir (23), his wife Monara Sekh (19), and their two-year-old daughter.
Officials said the fire spread quickly due to the highly combustible nature of the materials used in the shanties, including tarpaulin sheets, scrap items and other flammable waste stored in and around the huts. Eyewitnesses said that the fire spread within minutes, leaving little time for residents to react. However, four other occupants of the cluster managed to escape.
“The toddler could have been saved, but the flames spread so fast that everything was engulfed in no time,” a neighbour said.
He added that the couple tried to push the child out, but just then, the tin roof, along with the tarpaulin, collapsed.
“Mosibur had locked the door at night because thefts are common here. When the fire broke out, he could not find the key. He even tried to break the lock with a knife, but before the family could get out, the burning roof came crashing down,” he said. Visuals from the scene showed the entire plot reduced to ashes, with charred remains, including what seemed to be bones, scattered across the site. Burnt household items — a refrigerator frame, coolers, utensils, gas cylinders and plastic containers — lied amid debris.
Nearby buildings were not spared either. Residents said water tanks installed on adjacent rooftops were damaged due to the intense heat, while electrical wires in the narrow lanes melted. Many in the neighbourhood initially mistook the sound of explosions for something else.
“We heard a series of loud bangs during the night,” another neighbour said.
“At first, we thought it was a wedding procession because there are banquet halls nearby. But when the sounds continued and we checked the time, we stepped out and saw huge flames rising from the shanties,” he added.
The inconsolable family members of the victims said several locals are natives of West Bengal and were soon going to leave for their hometowns ahead of the assembly elections.
“We were planning to return to our hometown in a few days for the elections,” Monara’s mother, a native of the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, said.
She added that the family had been living in Delhi for nearly four years but had moved to the Budh Vihar locality only two months ago because there was a severe electricity and water shortage where they used to live earlier.
