“I Can’t Breathe. Please Save Me”: UPSC Aspirant’s Last Message Before Dying in Delhi's Karol Bagh Fire

A 26-year-old UPSC aspirant died trapped in a lift at Vishal Mega Mart in Delhi’s Karol Bagh during a massive fire on Friday evening. The victim, Dhirendra Pratap Singh, sent several desperate messages to his family moments before he died of suffocation. According to the reports, Singh was a native of Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh and had moved to Delhi to prepare for the Civil Services Examination. He recently cleared the preliminary round and was studying for the Mains. He held a degree in Political Science and was pursuing his Master's.

VIDEO | A 25-year-old man was found dead inside a lift after a fire broke out at a Vishal Mega Mart showroom in central Delhi's Karol Bagh area, police said on Saturday.

The deceased has been identified as Kumar Dhirender Pratap. His body was discovered in a lift during a search… pic.twitter.com/bj44iwWNzQ

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 5, 2025

According to his brother Vikram Singh, Dhirendra went to the store for shopping and got trapped in the elevator when the fire broke out. At 6:51 p.m., Dhirendra messaged him on WhatsApp saying, “Bhaiya, I’m stuck in the lift. I can’t breathe. Please save me.” According to the reports, he also made several phone calls to his brother.

Rescue teams recovered his body around 2:30 a.m., nearly eight hours after the fire began. Family members alleged that store staff turned off the power and fled the scene without checking the lift or making any attempt to help those inside. They also accused police of not responding quickly to calls for help.

“My brother wanted to serve the nation. He was disciplined and hard-working. But because of someone else’s carelessness, he died a painful death,” said Vikram.

(With inputs from angecnies)