A 45-year-old man, sleeping near a bonfire to ward off cold, was charred to a painful death in southeast Delhi. The incident took place in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, in the area of Jaitpur Police Station.
On receiving information about the incident, a police team reached the spot and shifted the body to a mortuary for post-mortem. An inquest proceeding has been initiated into the matter.
The deceased has been identified as Madhu, a native of Purnea, Bihar, a resident of Hari Nagar part-2 in Jaitpur area with his two sons and their family.
According to a police official, information about the incident was received at Jaitpur Police Station on Wednesday morning. On the information a police team reached the spot, where the body of the deceased Madhu was found lying in 100 per cent burns.
On inquiry, son of the deceased Ravi said that his entire family lives in the same house. Both Ravi and his brother, along with their family, live on the first floor of the building, while the deceased Madhu used to live on the ground floor.
On the night of the incident, the whole family went to the first floor after having dinner, while Madhu slept on the ground floor. He had burnt a bonfire near his bed to keep his room warm.
In the morning, when Ravi came to the ground floor, he found his father lying in his room completely charred. He immediately informed other family members and passed the information to the local police station.
A probe has been initiated by the police to ascertain any foul play in the matter.
A hospital source said that the death seems to have happened due to the suffocation due to poisonous gases emanating from the bonfire before the dead body burnt by the fire. The speculation is based on the condition of the dead body recovered from the spot.
According to the police source, the deceased was found burnt in the sleeping condition on his bed. However, inquiry into the matter is being carried out.