Six charred to death in Delhi’s Pitampura blaze

Tragedy struck northwest Delhi’s Pitampura area on Thursday evening when a fire broke out in a multi-storey building, claiming the lives of six individuals, while one person sustained injuries, officials said.

The cause of the fire, originating on the first floor, is yet to be determined, officials stated. At 8 pm, a call reported the blaze at plot no. 37, ZP block, Pitampura, prompting the dispatch of eight fire tenders.

With the assistance of local police, seven individuals were rescued and rushed to Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital. Unfortunately, six of them, including four women, were declared dead upon arrival, revealed a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official.

Within an hour, the fire was successfully extinguished, and cooling operations were underway, confirmed another DFS officer. The police reported that the fire on the first floor led to smoke engulfing the three floors above.

Preliminary information suggests that the victims, aged between 25 and 60, belonged to two different families. The building had a ground-floor parking area, with people residing on the upper floors, according to a police officer.

According to the information received from the hospitals, those who died were identified as Rakesh Gupta (62), Renu Gupta (62), Shweta (30), Shanu Verma (27), Santosh (25) and Kirti (25).

A case under sections 304A (causing death by negligence), 285 (negligent conduct) and 336 (endangering lives) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Maurya Enclave Police station, police said.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, as authorities work to ascertain further details. (With inputs from PTI)