Bihar: 3 minor siblings charred to death in Araria fire, 1 hurt

PATNA: Three minor siblings were charred to death after in a fire that broke out in a slum area under Vishhariya panchayat in Araria district on Wednesday night, police said. One child, who suffered serious burn injuries, was admitted to a local hospital.
The fire engulfed Shahadat Tola (ward number 10) under the Bhargama police station area around midnight. It originated from the cottage of one Mohd Dilshad’s cottage and spread to other shanties. Four kids, who were sleeping in the cottage, got trapped in the blazing fire. Three of them hid under the bed to save their lives, while one somehow managed to escape with severe burn injuries. Their mother, Nargis, was sleeping in a separate cottage.
Locals tried to extinguish the fire and fire tenders also reached the village, but the kids could not be saved. According to police, a short-circuit probably caused the fire.
SHO of Bhargama police station Aditya Kumar said the victims were identified as Dilshad’s three-year-old daughter Roshni and his two sons – Azad (5) and Altab (7). The bodies of the kids were sent to sadar hospital for postmortem. The injured child was identified as Khushnawaz (12), the eldest son of Dilshad.
“The four kids were sleeping when the fire broke out. The fire took a menacing form in no time. The injured child was rushed to a community health centre at Bhargama from where the doctor referred him to Bhagalpur for better treatment,” Kumar said, adding 14 huts were reduced to ashes and at least six cattle perished in the fire.