Two kids die in paan stall fire

The cause of the fire could not be ascertained. However, police said the blaze might have been caused by an electric short circuit. Details about the damage caused by the fire were not available.

Police said Mohite and Lashkare, who are school students, had come to the city to meet their relative Namdeo Pawar during the Diwali vacations. Pawar, who resides at survey number 112/B on Dhanori Road, had allegedly asked them to sleep in his paan stall as their was not enough room to accommodate his family members and guests in his hut.

Some residents of the slum, who noticed columns of smoke billowing from the paan stall, informed the fire brigade around 12.10 pm. The blaze was brought under control by 1 pm with the help of a fire tender.

With high degree burns, both the boys were found lying inside the paan stall when the rescue workers went inside to the see the damages. They were shifted to Sassoon hospital where Mohite was proclaimed dead on arrival. Lashkare succumbed to injuries a couple of hours later.