Heater on first floor may have set off fire that killed six in Delhi’s Pitampura

A day after six people were killed in a fire that broke out at a four-storey residential building in Northwest Delhi’s Pitampura, police suspect the blaze broke out from a heater on the first floor and the smoke then billowed upwards.

The victims have been identified as Rakesh Gupta (62), his wife Renu (62), and daughter Shweta (30); and two women, sisters Kirti and Shanu Verma, and a cook Santosh Kumar (27).

According to senior police officers, the landlord, Subhash Gupta, who runs a steel factory in Wazirabad, lives on the first and second floors, which are a duplex. On the day of the incident, he had gone to attend a wedding in Bengaluru while his mother was at home. His son too was away for work.

“Prima facie, it appears the fire broke out due to a malfunctioning heater that was left switched on in the living room after the landlord’s mother stepped out to buy medicines,” said a police officer.

Gupta refused to comment on the incident.

Delhi Fire Services Chief Atul Garg said eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot following a call at 8 pm. The rescue operation took around two hours.

“The fire was limited to the first and second floors which were locked when firefighters entered the building… the victims died due to asphyxiation as the smoke spread… the fire starting due to a heater can be a probable cause,” he added.

DCP (Northwest) Jitendra Meena said they found a heater on the first floor and the landlord is being questioned.

He added that a case under IPC sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 304A (causing death by negligence) has been lodged against unknown persons.

Meanwhile, until help arrived, several neighbours rushed to put out the flames with buckets and pipes. Said a neighbour, Meenakshi Aggarwal, “Everyone tried their best to douse the fire till the firefighters arrived… we got a pipe from one of the houses, attached it to a tap, and tried to spray it on the first floor.”