Couple, 4 children, die in cooking gas cylinder fire in Panipat

After preliminary inspection, Panipat’s Superintendent of Police Shashank Anand said, “It appears that there was an LPG cylinder leakage that filled the room with the gas and when Afroza woke up this morning and tried to light the burner to make tea, it resulted in a blast. Their house consisted of a single room which had a bed and a kitchen.”

The police said the room where the family lived is approximately 8 feet by 10 feet on the first floor of a godown. The officials added that it appears that the family did not even get time to open the door which was locked from inside.

As the blast took place, the family screamed for help when their neighbors rushed to their help. After they broke open the door, a huge ball of fire emanated from the room, the neighbors said.

Asgar, who was the first one to enter Abdul’s room, told the police, “We were sleeping in our room. My mother got up and said she smelt smoke and LPG. A few moments later, we heard them scream. We rushed to Abdul’s room and saw smoke coming out. I screamed for help when some passers-by stopped. It took us a while to break open the door because it was locked from inside.”

The neighbors also told the police that Ishrat was the eldest of her siblings and was about to get married soon. Her family was preparing for her wedding and had also finalized a groom for her. On coming Sunday, the would-be groom’s family members were scheduled to visit Ishrat’s home and meet her parents to finalize their wedding date.

Abdul’s nephew Mohammad Khan told the police that Ishrat had come to Panipat from West Bengal a few days ago because the family was preparing for her wedding. Both Abdul and Afroza used to work at a nearby factory.