A head constable died in a fire that broke out at the Central Reserve Police Force unit at R K Puram in the early hours of Saturday. Officials said the constable did not respond to evacuation calls, possibly because he was asleep or died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Officials said the entire floor had been gutted and many electronic gadgets were destroyed. Police said the incident occurred around 3am when a fire was reported from the fourth floor of the Electronic Data Processing (EDP) centre of the force in R K Puram. Fire officials said seven tenders were rushed to the spot and fire fighting operation continued till late in the morning. “The jawan did not respond to evacuation calls. We think he was asleep when the incident occurred. When a fire breaks out in a closed space, the oxygen in the room slowly burns out, leading to carbon monoxide poisoning. We will know the exact cause of death after the autopsy is conducted,” a fire official said. Senior CRPF officials also reached the spot to assess the damage.
