13-year-old killed in fire, short circuit suspected in electric scooter that was being charged
The incident occurred around 2.43 am in Vishnu Garden, where the family lives in a two-storey house. The ground floor has a shop and the parking area.
The police, who launched searches across Kushinagar on Saturday, have arrested 10 people so far in the case. (File Photo) A 13-year-old boy died while his grandmother sustained injuries in a fire that is suspected to have erupted in an electric scooter, which was being charged, at their house in West Delhi’s Khayala early Wednesday.
The incident occurred around 2.43 am in Vishnu Garden, where the family lives in a two-storey house. The ground floor has a shop and the parking area.
Police said the electric scooter was parked behind the shop when the fire started, suspected from a short circuit.
Both Sharanjeet Kaur (65) and her grandson Yashpreet Singh received burns and were rushed to Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, where doctors declared the boy dead on arrival. Sharanjeet was discharged after treatment on Wednesday.
Police said Yashpreet, a student of Class 8, was sleeping in a room on the ground floor with his uncle Gurjit Singh at the time of the blaze.
Speaking to PTI, Jaspreet’s father Baljeet Singh said he had asked his son to sleep upstairs with the family, but the boy chose not to. “I had told him to sleep on the upper floor with us, but he said he had to go to play in the morning, so he slept downstairs,” Baljeet said.
He added that around 2.30 am, his uncle tried to wake Jaspreet up. “But he must not have realised because he was in deep sleep. His uncle then came upstairs and informed us. I asked everyone to move upstairs… Then we realised my son was still downstairs. We broke down the door and pulled him out, but by then his breathing was almost gone,” he said.
“The scooter’s battery and tyre reportedly exploded during the blaze. Gurjit escaped and the family members evacuated from the first and second floors,” a police officer said.
According to the officer, at least four fire tenders were pressed into service and the fire was brought under control in an hour.
Police said Baljeet, who makes dyes, had suffered a motorcycle accident about two months ago and cannot walk properly. According to a relative, the child’s mother lives separately.
Jaspreet’s body was handed over to the family after postmortem examination, police said, adding that they are trying to establish the exact cause of the fire.
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