New Delhi: Delhi Police has registered an FIR against unknown persons after three men, including two siblings, were charred to death when a massive fire gutted a makeshift hut near the AGCR Enclave at Anand Vihar in east Delhi, an official said on Tuesday. "We have registered an FIR at the Anand Vihar police station under Section 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Multiple teams have been formed to probe the incident," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara), Prashant Gautam, said.
The Delhi Fire Services received a distress call at 2:22 am on Tuesday and dispatched three fire tenders to the scene. The flames were brought under control by 2:50 am, a fire official said. At 3:10 am, station officer Feroz confirmed that three charred bodies were recovered from inside the hut. They have been identified as Jaggi (30), and siblings Shyam Singh (40) and Kanta Prasad (37), all from Auraiya in Uttar Pradesh, police said in a statement, adding that asphyxiation due to fire killed the trio. The deceased and another labourer, who reportedly worked as labourers with the Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), lived in the makeshift hut located near a DDA plot on Manglam Road, the statement said.
"They reportedly used a small container of diesel placed on a cooler stand to light the hut. Nitin, the survivor, said around 2 am, Shyam Singh woke up and noticed the fire. He tried to unlock the door but failed. As the blaze intensified, Nitin managed to escape but the other three got trapped by the flames," the statement said.
A gas cylinder inside the tent also exploded, further fuelling the fire.
A police source said Shyam and Kanta's father Rampal has questioned as to how one person managed to escape the fire while three others were charred to death.
"Rampal also lived in the same hut but had gone out after dinner on Monday night. Police have recorded the statements of Rampal and Nitin," the source said.
While the authorities suspect that the diesel container might have triggered the fire, a probe is on to ascertain the exact cause of the blaze, the statement said.
Meanwhile, the IGL in a statement termed the incident "unfortunate" and said it was not related to its operations.
"There are reports that IGL workers have been charred to death after a massive fire in Anand Vihar. While we are deeply saddened by this unfortunate fire incident, we would like to clarify that the incident is unrelated to IGL's operations. The deceased were not a part of IGL's workforce," the statement said.