In a tragic incident, three siblings, including a six-month-old boy, were killed and another child was injured when a fire broke out in a slum cluster in the northeast Delhi’s New Usmanpur area.
In a tragic incident, three siblings, including a six-month-old boy, were killed and another child was injured when a fire broke out in a slum cluster in the northeast Delhi’s New Usmanpur area.
Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal, who visited the spot, said she will take up the matter with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority to seek compensation for the victims’ kin.
The police suspects the fire, which broke out at around 11.30 pm on Saturday night and gutted over a dozen shanties, was caused by a short circuit and explosions of three gas cylinders. Eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot that took around three hours to douse the flames, fire department officials said.
The three killed have been identified as Reena (10), Meena (7) and six-month-old Mubarak. Another child in the neighbourhood, Shakhuddin, also got trapped inside a burning shanty. He is now hospitalised with 60 per cent burn injuries, the police said.
Shakhuddin’s father Allah Rakha suffered burn injuries while trying to save the children. Also, two buffaloes were killed in the fire, the police said.
Ms Maliwal, who visited the slum cluster to take stock of the situation, said she will meet the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to seek compensation for the victims’ kin. “Though nothing can compensate such a huge loss (of lives), we will write to the DLSA seeking compensation for the family of the victims,” Ms Maliwal said.
She said it is the “saddest” thing that could ever happen to a family. “The family is very poor, they had a tarpaulin sheet on their head. So when it burnt, the mother managed to escape but it fell on the children. The mother was inconsolable,” she said. Ms Maliwal said a doctor was called to the spot during her visit and the mother was rushed to a nearby hospital.
