Gurgaon: Four children dead in hut fire

Police said the fire broke out around 12.30 am inside the small hut occupied by Kripal Singh, his wife Santoshi, their four children, his niece, his brother-in-law Balesh and his wife Satyavati. While Singh’s three older children — Kanchan, 10, Rohit, 6, and Mohit, 3, and his niece, Kusum, 13 — died in the blaze, his youngest, a sixteen-day-old infant, was saved by Santoshi, who grabbed him while running out of the hut, said residents of the village. Balesh and Satyavati, who were sleeping on the other side of the partition that separated the two families, escaped unhurt.
Officials from the fire department said no fire tenders had been sent since the fire had already been doused by the time they received information.

“After dousing the fire, we saw that the bodies of the four children were charred. Kripal, whose body was on fire when he ran out of the hut, survived only because he had the presence of mind to roll around in the dust,” said Pradhan.

Singh and his wife were rushed to Civil Hospital in Gurgaon, from where they were referred to Safdarjung Hospital. While Santoshi was discharged late Saturday morning, Singh is still being treated. “He has suffered burn injuries to his hands, legs and face, but doctors say his life is not in danger,” said assistant sub-inspector Mohammad Sharif.
“As of now, it is unclear how the fire broke out. The matter is being investigated,” he added.

Residents of Mohammadpur Jharsa, meanwhile, are still visibly shaken by the incident.  “After the fire, he was in great pain, begging us to put him out of his misery.We have not told him that his children have died. He is already in shock, and we are reluctant to traumatise him further,” said Babloo.

Villagers said Singh and his family hail from Budaun district in Uttar Pradesh. He used to sell fruits and vegetables but began tilling land two years ago. A resident of the village said, “They were a nice family. They never got into fights with anyone. It is difficult to believe something so tragic happened to them.”