Two sisters suffocated to death in Delhi’s Sadar Bazar after a fire broke out at their multi-storey residence on Chameliyan Road on Tuesday (2nd April).
As per reports, the house belongs to meat exporter Haji Mohammad Salim Shabbo Qureshi, who is the brother of Nasir Qureshi, Samajwadi Party MLA from Moradabad Dehat seat. The deceased girls were the daughters of Nasir Qureshi’s brother.
According to police, eight people were trapped inside the building when dense smoke engulfed the building after an air conditioner compressor exploded.
According to a relative, while six of the victims were saved, the girls identified as 14-year-old Gulashna and 12-year-old Anaya were trapped inside a bathroom on the second floor, where they had locked themselves as dense smoke hindered rescue efforts.
The relative stated that they had returned from school in the afternoon and were sleeping in a room when the fire broke out. Reports say that during the incident, Salim Qureshi’s two sons Shariq and Khijr were not present in the house, meanwhile, Qureshi was in Dubai.
The relative added that the rescuers were able to enter the building with difficulty while wearing gas masks. The rescuers found the girls unconscious in the bathroom after smashing open the door. The victims were rushed to a hospital and declared dead by doctors, according to DCP (North) Manoj Kumar Meena.
A Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officer stated that “the building had glass windows and poor ventilation, which trapped the smoke.” He added, “Five fire tenders were pressed into service after we got information about the incident at 2.07 pm.”
According to a report, the fire in meat exporter Salim’s house began in the theatre on the bungalow’s ground level. As soon as the fire started, the house was brimmed with smoke from the centralised AC duct.
The minor girls locked themselves in the bathroom to avoid the smoke, but both drowned when the smoke got inside. On Tuesday, the FSL team arrived at the scene and collected evidence. Meanwhile, police have launched an investigation into the matter.