Man charred to death as house catches fire in Gurugram

Gurugram, Aug 16 (IANS) A man allegedly burnt to death after his house in the Maruti Kunj area of Haryana's Gurugram district caught fire, said officials here on Friday.

The incident happened late at night on Thursday and the Gurugram Police have initiated an inquiry.

The deceased, Sanjay, was alone in the house at the time of the incident, the officials said.

Fire officers also reached the spot to ascertain the situation, said the district's fire safety officials, adding that it was the other residents who noticed the smoke and raised the alarm.

Gulshan Kalra, deputy director (technical) of Haryana Fire and Emergency Services, said the man was found dead inside the house. The other family members were not at home at the time of the fire.

The neighbours said that before the fire tenders arrived, they doused the flame with the help of a submersible fire fighting pump installed in the house.

Mahesh Kumar, one of the residents, said they all assumed that Sanjay must have rushed out but fire officials later informed us that he was charred to death.

Kalra said they received information during night hours and fire tenders were rushed to the spot. “But the man could not be saved,” he said.

Prima facie, according to police, the fire was triggered by a short circuit.

"After extinguishing the fire, when people went inside, they found a burnt body of a person. The body is said to be that of Sanjay, who lived in the house. The body was completely charred," Kalra said.

"Neighbours and fire personnel made many efforts to extinguish the fire, but the man could not be saved. Sanjay was alone in the house at the time of the fire incident. At present, the cause of the fire is not yet known. The police have sent the body to the hospital. The matter is being investigated," Kalra said.

This was not the first incident. Last year a 46-year-old man allegedly burnt to death after his rented flat on the fifth floor of Tata Raisina Residency in Sector 59 caught fire.