Six individuals, including four members of a family, tragically lost their lives reportedly due to inhaling toxic fumes from coal braziers in two separate incidents in the national capital, as reported by officials on Sunday. Delhi is currently experiencing severe cold conditions, with the minimum temperature dropping to 3.5 degrees Celsius, the lowest this winter, on Sunday morning.
In the outer north Delhi area of Alipur, two children were among the four casualties.
The victims were identified as Rakesh (40), a water tanker driver, his wife Lalita (38), and their two sons Piyush (8) and Sunny (7), according to the police.
The incident came to light when a PCR call was received at Alipur police station around 7 am on Sunday, reporting an unconscious person in Khera Kalan village in Delhi. Responding swiftly, the police team discovered that the room’s door was locked from the inside. After breaking a glass window, they gained access and found four individuals unconscious. Despite being rushed to the hospital, the victims were declared dead by doctors.
Upon investigation, the police found a coal brazier (angithi) inside the room, leading to the preliminary assessment that all four died due to suffocation. An inquiry under section 174 of the CrPC has been initiated.
In a parallel incident in the Inderpuri area of west Delhi, two men of Nepali origin were discovered dead in their room, allegedly due to inhaling toxic fumes from a coal brazier. The deceased were identified as Ram Bahadur (57) and Abhishek (22), with Bahadur being a professional driver and Abhishek working as a domestic help.
Authorities received a call at 8.30 am reporting that two individuals in a rented house were not responding. Upon investigation, it was found that the men were locked in their third-floor room from the inside. After forcing the door open, they were found unconscious and subsequently declared dead by doctors at a nearby hospital. The room contained one ‘angithi’ with burnt residue, and the closed window suggested a lack of ventilation. No injuries were observed on the bodies. The police have initiated further investigation under section 174 of the CrPC.
