Toddler dies of burns as house catches fire in Gurgaon's Ghata

GURGAON: A one-and-a-half-year-old boy died of severe burn injuries after a fire broke at a house locked from the outside in Ghata on Tuesday. Fire department officials said the child was sleeping and his mother, a daily wage earner, had to go to pick up her older son — a 5-year-old — from a school nearby. The boy’s father was out for work.
The fire started from an earthen lamp that was lit up in a prayer unit over the bed.
Police said on Wednesday they got a call about the blaze at a one-room accommodation in Harijan Colony around 2pm.
“Police teams and fire brigade officials rushed to the spot. Initial investigation has suggested that the bed caught fire after an earthen lamp that was above it on a prayer unit fell. The boy’s mother had locked the room from the outside to go get her 5-year-old son back from school. The father was out for work at the time,” said Sanjeev Kumar, SHO of Sector 56 station.
By the time fire department reached the spot, some neighbours had broken open the door to douse the flames and rescue the child.
“A team of fire brigade was dispatched to the spot. Locals told us that they heard a child cry and they broke open the door of the house. The condition of the child was serious,” fire official Narender Singh said.
The toddler was rushed to a government hospital in critical condition and succumbed to 95% burn injuries. “His mother told police she got to know about the fire after she got back home. The family members are daily wage earners,” the SHO added.
The boy’s parents, Satish Kumar (32) and Krishna Devi (30), both from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, have told cops they don’t want to pursue a case as it was an accidental death. Police have handed over the body to the family members after an autopsy and started an enquiry under section 174 (to enquire on their own) of the CrPC.