Kushinagar, May 11 (IANS) Seven members of a family were burnt to death after a massive fire engulfed their entire house in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district.
The victims comprised four minor girls, their mother and grandparents.
While the woman and four of her daughters died on the spot, her eldest daughter (8) was rescued by the police.
The elderly couple, who were rushed to a local hospital in a critical condition, succumbed to their burn injuries during treatment.
The cause behind the fire is yet to be ascertained but locals said that the clay oven was not properly doused after preparing food.
Raging flames triggered panic among villagers, who informed firefighters.
According to locals, firefighters did not reach the spot in time.
However, Kushinagar District MagistrateRamesh Ranjan, along with SP Dhawal Jaiswal, rushed to the spot.
Senior police officials supervised the rescue operation.
Taking cognisance of the tragedy, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia for each of the deceased, which will be given to the next of kin.
He directed the officials to provide all assistance to members of the family.
According to SP Dhawal Jaiswal, an inquiry had been initiated to identify the reason behind the fire.
Officials said that the father, Shohrat, is an auto driver.
He was in the market when the incident took place.
According to Shohrat, flames trapped his family members and prevented their way out.
Davinder Singh, aka Kala, was arrested on Sunday from Haryana's Fatehabad town. Two suspects involved in the killing -- Keshav and Charanjeet -- had stayed with him, police officials said.
What was the worst is that he went to admit his wife at a local hospital on Monday morning after his brutal attack but concealed the severed body part at his residence to make sure that the doctors are unable to reattach it.
Congress leader and former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is undergoing a one-year jail sentence, was on Monday admitted in heptology ward of the PGIMER in Chandigarh due to liver-related problems, a statement said.
Mann reached Moosa village in Mansa district to express his condolences to the bereaved family. Heavy police security has been deployed outside the residence of Moosewala. A few villagers held a protest against Punjab Police over heavy security deployment ahead of the Chief Minister's visit.
Currently lodged in Tihar jail in a MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) case, Bishnoi is allegedly involved in more than five dozen criminal cases lodged against him in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab. He had once threatened to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
The Chief Minister said Moosewala was a multi-talented artist who was blessed with mesmerising voice and creativity. He said his untimely and tragic death has given a major blow to the music industry in general and millions of his fans in particular.
