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.
Notably, the drive against glorification of weapons had been launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to curb this trend. Under this drive, verification of licensed weapons are being carried out, besides verifying addresses of licensees.
According to the police, the murder occurred on May 30 and so far, six body parts have been recovered while a search is underway for the missing remains. The accused have been identified as Poonam and her son Deepak. Sources said that after chopping Anjan Das's body, the duo had stored the body parts in their fridge and started gradually disposing them.
According to the official, the victim Sanjay Yadav has a property dispute with one Ramesh Yadav in the village Barihari under Chakia police station in the district. The neighbours rushed them to the primary health centre in Chakia where the woman succumbed to her injuries.
In a video doing rounds on social media, the men could be seen chasing the van carrying Aaftab and managing to open the van's rear door to find a policeman standing inside, in an apparent attempt to attack Aaftab.
According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Director Atul Garg, a call regarding fire at a shop was received around 9.20 p.m. on Thursday. "The fire was in the shop no 1868, near Gurudwara, in the Bhagirath Palace Market. So far 40 fire tenders have been rushed to the site and no causality has been reported," he said.
The CBI has chargesheeted Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Sameer Mahendru, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Mootha Gautham, and two government officers -- the then Deputy Commissioner of Excise Department Kuldeep Singh and then Assistant Commissioner of Excise Department Narender Singh. The charge sheet was filed before the Rouse Avenue Court.
