Man charred to death as his CNG car bursts into flames in Grugram

GURUGRAM: A 56-year-old property dealer was charred to death inside his CNG car in the city on Friday afternoon even as his two colleagues got off the vehicle moments before it caught fire, and escaped unhurt.
Police said the Maruti Esteem (DL 9CJ 2021), without a factory-fitted CNG kit, burst into flames apparently due to overheating and preliminary probe did not indicate any foul play behind the death.

Sube Singh, who lived in Gurugram’s Gandhinagar area, was talking to someone over the phone sitting inside the car with the air conditioner on, when the fire broke out in front of his office in Garhi around 4pm.

Singh could not come out of the car apparently because the door locks got jammed due to excessive heating, police suspect.

His colleagues, who were sitting inside the office then, saw thick smoke and flames coming out of the car.

They poured water with buckets but couldn’t control the fire. Some local villagers, who heard their cries, brought a water hose connected to a borewell.

An eyewitness said heat had built up inside the car and triggered a blast of sort, breaking the glass windows, moments after they sprayed water on the car.

With this, the flames flared up and it took another 10 minutes for them to control the fire. But by then, Singh was dead.

Sources said Singh, along with his two colleagues, had gone to show plots to some prospective buyers along the stretch between Hayatpur and Garhi, where some residential and commercial projects are likely to come up.

They had driven a total of around 20km in the sun before returning to their office.

“While his two colleagues got off the car, Singh remained seated in the car to attend a phone call. The AC was on. He was on the navigator’s seat (beside the driver’s) when the fire broke out and apparently shifted to the back seat in a bid to escape. But he could not come out as the door lock got jammed,” said another eyewitness.

No FIR has been filed in the matter yet. But inspector Yashwant, SHO of Sector 10 police station, said overheating appeared to be the reason behind the fire.

“It was an old car and the CNG kit was not factory fitted. The air-conditioner was on, which might have heated up the car and sparked fire. We will investigate the matter once we receive a complaint,” he added.