The birthday celebrations of 12-year-old girl Harshu turned fatal as four members of the family, including the birthday girl, died a few hours later in an inferno that broke out in a four-storey building in Dilshad Colony under Seemapuri Police Station of North East Delhi early on Friday.
Police said among the victims were Harshu, her four-year-old brother Chiku, her father Sanjay Verma (45) and her grandfather Vijay Kumar Verma (63).
Two others, including the girl’s mother, Mona Verma (34), and one Binesh Rathi, a 40-year-old woman, sustained 50 per cent burn injuries and were admitted to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital. Binesh, who lives in a first floor flat, jumped off the balcony and suffered injuries.
Arjun, one of the neighbours, said, “The Verma family had celebrated Harshu’s birthday on Thursday night. There was a small get together after which they all went to sleep. later post midnight, we heard screams. Till the last moment, we heard their cries for help. It was a heart-breaking sight to see all the family members trapped inside the building.”
A senior official of the Delhi Fire Services said, “We received a call around 3am about a blaze which started on the ground floor and subsequently spread to the other floors of the building. The cause of the fire is suspected to be an electric short-circuit. Fire started from the electricity meter board installed on the ground floor of the building that got filled with smoke due to the fire in the two-wheelers parked on the ground floor. Initially, six fire tenders were pressed to douse the flames. A total of eleven fire tenders were used. Within one hour, the fire was controlled.”
The fire fighters said rescue work was delayed due to congested lanes. Eyewitnesses told police that as the terrace was locked all the family members were trapped inside the building. By the time, the fire fighters broke into the building they found the bodies on the staircase.
Police suspect the Verma family tried to get out of their second-floor apartment, got caught in the flames and smoke on the stairs and died of suffocation.
“Preliminary investigation has revealed that the incident could have been averted since it was not a major fire. The victims could have saved themselves by staying inside their rooms or in the balcony”, a police official said.
Ironically, other occupants of the building that has 11 flats with only one exit, either stayed on their balcony or rushed to the rooftop to escape the fire.
Nupur Prasad, DCP (Shahdara) said, “We have registered a case under section 287 and 304 A of the India Penal Code IPC) at the Seemapuri police station and investigation has been taken up.”