Four members of a family, including three children, were burnt alive and a woman suffered burn injuries after a fire broke out at their house in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district in the early hours of Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as Rafi Mohammad (25), his daughters Jaitun (6), Julka (2) and son Sameer (4). Mohammad’s wife Bhura was taken to a nearby hospital and is in critical condition.
Police said they received information about the fire at Karatosh village in Churah tehsil at 3 am at Tissa police station. Initial investigation revealed that there were petrol cans in the room. It is feared that Mohammad may have lit a beedi and threw a match stick, which probably fell on the petrol box.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Chamba Headquarters) Abhimanyu Verma said all the bodies have been recovered, but the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. A team of FSL from Dharamsala will inspect the spot, he said, adding that SP Arul Kumar and other officials have visited the spot. He said that preliminary investigation indicated that the fire broke out in the petrol box kept in the house.
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