New Delhi, March 11 Three migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh were charred to death early Tuesday when a tent in which they were sleeping caught fire in East Delhi’s Anand Vihar area. A case of causing death by negligence was registered by police.
The victims – identified as Kanta Prasad (37), Jaggi (30) and Shyam Singh (40) – were engaged in contract work by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL).
The victims were living in temporary accommodation under a tent near a DDA plot on Manglam Road near the Rotary Club office, a statement said.
According to the fire department, a phone call reporting the blaze was received at 2.22 a.m. on Tuesday and three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The flames were brought under control by 2.50 a.m., a fire official said.
The police said a fourth worker Nitin Singh (32), who used to live with the victims in the same tent, managed to escape the inferno while the other three could not come out of the tent on fire.
An initial probe indicated that the fire was sparked by a lamp used to light the tent and as the fire spread a gas cylinder also burst, police said.
The lamp served as a night light for the tent occupants who went off to sleep after locking the makeshift door of their tent, police said.
“The spot has been inspected by the fire brigade, Crime team, and FSL team. Bodies of the deceased have been shifted to a mortuary for autopsy. Statement of Nitin Singh, and Rampal (father of deceased Kanta and Shyam Singh) have been recorded,” said a police official.
"We have registered an FIR at the Anand Vihar police station for causing death by negligence,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam.
A police source said Shyam and Kanta's father Rampal was questioned as to how one person managed to escape the fire while three others were charred to death.
"Rampal also lived in the same makeshift tent but had gone out after dinner when the fire spread," the source said.
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