Delhi's Shahdara fire case: Building owner, nephew arrested

NEW DELHI: A 50-year-old man and his nephew have been arrested in connection with a fire incident in Delhi's Shahdara that led to the death of four members of a family, police said on Thursday.
They were identified as Atma Ram Goyal and Manoj Goyal (26), the police said.
According to the Delhi Fire Service, the fire broke out at a house in the Farsh Bazaar area due to an LPG gas cylinder leakage Tuesday midnight, resulting in the death of Munni Devi, her two sons, Om Prakash (22) and Naresh (23), and daughter Sunita (18) due to suffocation, while another son, Lal Chand (29), suffered burns.
A senior police officer said, "The building was owned by Atma Ram Goyal. The front portion of the house was turned into a shop which was used by his nephew Manoj Goyal for repairing gas stoves and cylinders."
The house did not have proper ventilation, which made it difficult for the victims to breathe as the fire spread, he said.
"A case was registered under sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 304A (causing death by negligence) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and both Atma Ram Goyal and his nephew Manoj have been arrested in the case," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahadra) R Sathiyasundaram said.
Police have said that an electrical short circuit is suspected to have caused the incident.