Mystery fire at Sector 27 house leaves two injured

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 23

Two men were injured while an elderly woman fell unconscious due to suffocation following a mystery fire in a house at Sector 27 today.

The police are investigating the matter as eyewitnesses said one of the injured men, Avinash, had a stab injury in his stomach and a knife was recovered from the spot. His friend Bhagirath also got injured in the fire incident. In their 50s, both put up stalls in the Sector 19 market to sell different items.

The police are trying to ascertain whether he stabbed himself or whether he had a fight with his friend. Neighbours said Avinash was mentally upset for the past few days as his parents were already dead while wife was putting up in Mumbai with her younger sister.     He was a tenant here for the past 45 years, said a neighbour.

Firemen safely evacuated 80-year-old Prakash Rani. Her two sons, Gopal and Pawan Kumar, ran out following the fire in the house.

According to firemen, they got a call at 11.20 am about the fire incident and the firefighting operation lasted half an hour. Though the exact cause of the fire incident is not clear, firemen believe it could be due to a short circuit.

The family of the owner of the house lives on the ground floor. The fire broke out on the first floor of the house where the two friends were at the time of the incident. Household items, including an AC, almirah, washing machine, a sofa set and an inverter were destroyed in the fire.

The two friends rushed out and were taken to a nearby hospital by the police. Smoke also entered the second floor of the house where the old woman and her two sons were present.

“Two fire tenders were pressed into service and we safely evacuated the trapped woman. A short circuit appears to be the reason behind the fire,” said Jagdeep Singh, sub-fire officer of the Industrial Area, Phase 1, fire station.

House owner Surender Kaur said, “We were inside the house when people started shouting about the fire on the first floor. We ran out and called the police and the fire station.”

Stab injury

The police are investigating the matter as eyewitnesses said one of the injured men, Avinash, had a stab injury in his stomach and a knife was recovered from the spot. An elderly woman residing on the second floor of the house also fell unconscious after getting suffocated due to smoke.