Liquor vend worker charred to death

Satinder Pal Singh

Dera Bassi, December 10

A worker sleeping inside a liquor vend situated on the Dera Bassi-Barwala stretch at Saidpura village was charred to death in a fire that broke out in the liquor vend on the intervening night of December 9 and 10. The fire was so intense that it gutted the entire vend, besides a kiosk nearby.

The deceased has been identified as 41-year-old Sugriv Kumar, a resident of Una district in Himachal Pradesh.

Workers of a nearby factory in the area alerted firefighters, who rushed to the spot and put out the fire. They then broke open the door and found the charred body of Sugriv Kumar inside.

According to sources, Sugriv was working at the liquor vend for the past two years and used to sleep inside it. On the night of the tragedy, Sugriv, as usual, locked the liquor vend from inside around midnight and went to sleep. Fire officials said the cause of the fire was being investigated.

The victim, who was sleeping inside, was trapped and could not escape when the fire broke out.

One of the employees of a nearby factory reported that fire and smoke were seen emanating from the liquor vend. He said liquor bottles and other inflammable items stored in the premises fuelled the fire. The employee said a blast also took place inside the liquor vend. A gas cylinder stored near the vend is suspected to have exploded. Within minutes, the fire spread and engulfed the entire liquor vend, besides a kiosk, destroying goods.

Manjit Singh, fire officer, Dera Bassi, said they received information about the fire around 1.15 am after which fire engines were rushed to the spot. The Dera Bassi fire brigade rushed three 

fire engines along with a team of firemen to extinguish the fire. After a struggle of nearly three hours, the firemen were able to control the blaze, said the fire officer.

Asked whether the liquor vend was being run legally, Manjit said he had asked its owner to produce documents for verification.

Meanwhile, on a statement of the deceased’s uncle, the police have initiated inquest proceedings in the matter. The body was handed over to the family after a postmortem. The deceased is survived by his wife and two children.