Six of a family die of suffocation in fire at jeweller's house in Seoni's Chhapara

A family in Chhapara in Seoni district was struck by tragedy the day after Diwali. At about 3 am on Monday, a fire broke out in the three-storey house of bullion trader Kundan Soni in Jain Mohalla, Mahavir Ward. The fire, caused by a short circuit, broke out when 10 members of the family were in the house. Four people were rescued, but six lost their lives. The house, where the festival had been celebrated only hours earlier, was filled with screams and mourning.

Block Medical Officer (BMO) Dr Tamsing Inwati, who conducted the post-mortem, said all six died of suffocation. After the post-mortem, the bodies were handed over to the families. Kundan Lal, Rajkumari, Smriti and Surya were cremated on Monday, while Ritu and Aditya were cremated on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses and relatives alleged that fire brigade vehicles reached the spot about half an hour after being informed. They said the ambulance that took an injured person to hospital did not have enough oxygen either. They also alleged that the firefighters had been drinking.

Eyewitness Parv Jain said the fire brigade arrived late and had only half a tank of water. According to him, fire engines from Lakhnadon and Seoni came afterwards. Parv said the ambulance too did not arrive on time, had no oxygen cylinder and had a broken stretcher. He said, "We tried very hard to save the people, but could not save them."

Harsh Jain said he found Aditya on the stairs, still breathing. He carried him out and took him to the ambulance, but it had neither oxygen nor proper seating. According to Harsh, the ambulance doors were not opening properly either. He also gave Aditya CPR and his hands were moving at the time, but he died before reaching the hospital.

Superintendent of Police Krishna Lalchandani said Kundan Lal was a bullion trader and had installed grilles at the rear and other parts of the house for security. The house had only one way out, which made the rescue operation difficult, and rescuers had to break the grilles to get in.

Responding to the allegations, Jai Ambe company's district manager Dayanand Brahmne said, "Every ambulance carries an oxygen cylinder. The ambulance in which Aditya was taken to hospital in the Chhapara accident also had an oxygen cylinder." He said the hospital was only 5 to 7 minutes from the site, so Aditya was taken straight to hospital and there was no need to give oxygen on the way. Municipal council CMO Geeta Valmiki said the fire engine had reached the spot on time.

Local MLA Dinesh Rai Munmun put Kundan Lal Soni's son Saurabh Soni on the phone with Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav. The Chief Minister expressed grief over the incident and assured the family of all possible help. He has also directed that the state government give financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the family of each of the deceased.