One suffocates to death in fire in Kotla Mubarakpur

Police said the deceased has been identified as Lalender Mondal (52), hailing from Bihar.

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According to police, they received a call around 12.30 am about smoke emanating from the building. Four fire tenders and an ambulance rushed to the spot, a senior officer said. It took firefighters around two hours to douse the flames.

Police found Lalender unconscious and rushed him to AIIMS where doctors declared him brought dead. “Lalender worked as a driver for an Aadhaar official and was sleeping on the second floor of the building. Dense smoke from the lower floor suffocated him. The body has been sent for an autopsy and reports are awaited,” the officer said.

“The building was covered in smoke and fire tenders were finding it hard to douse the flames,” Govind, an eyewitness, said.

Police said a short circuit could have caused the fire on the floor, which was being renovated. However, investigation is on to ascertain the exact cause. Police said the building also housed an Aadhaar centre.

In another incident, a DTC bus caught fire on Sunday morning around 11.20 am in South Delhi’s Khanpur area. A police officer said two fire tenders were rushed to the spot and there were no casualties. Fire officials said prima facie it appears that the engine got overheated and caught fire.

(The reporter is a student of EXIMS)