Arson? 5 of family, friend burnt alive in Mancherial

HYDERABAD: Five members of a family and their friend were charred to death in a major fire at a village revenue assistant's (VRA) home in Mancherial district's Venkatapur village early Saturday. Police suspect it could be a case of arson and a few people have already been picked up for questioning.
The deceased were identified as Sivaiah, 50, his wife Padma, 45, a family friend, Shantaiah, 55, Padma's niece Moulika, 22, and the latter's two children, Himabindu, 2, and Sweety, 4. Bodies of all the victims were charred beyond recognition.
Police suspect that the fire erupted in the house of Sivaiah, VRA of Mandamarri, around 12.30 am. The house, built mostly with teakwood, was engulfed in thick smoke following the fire. "The roof of the structure collapsed on the victims, leaving them no chance to escape. Soon, the whole structure was reduced to ashes," Ramagundam police commissioner S Chandrasekhar Reddy told TOI.
During investigation, the police found that Shantaiah, an employee of Singareni Collieries Company Limited's RK-VI mine, was a friend of the couple and he had been living with the family for the past few years following a marital discord in 2013. Police officials said Padma's niece Moulika, who was from Kondapalli mandal, came to her aunt's house along with her children two days ago on a visit.
Police came to know that there were differences between Shantaiah and his family members over distribution of property and a few other things. On Saturday evening, police took four persons into custody to ascertain if it was a case of arson since there were no signs of gas leak.
Officials of Regional Forensic Science Laboratory in Karimnagar have launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the blaze.
The fire is believed to have started around 12.30 am. At 1.26 am, a distress call was made to the fire department, whose personnel reached the spot around 2am. The fire was extinguished in less then 20 minutes, but by then it was too late for the family. Some of the bodies were reduced to ashes. The bodies were found in different rooms of the house.
Mancherial deputy commissioner of police Akhil Mahajan and other senior officers visited the spot. "The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. We are also looking into the arson angle," Mahajan said.