New Delhi: A 78-year-old woman died and her son was injured in a fire at their home in west Delhi’s Mansarovar Garden area in the early hours of Tuesday, police said.
Fire officials said they received information about the incident around 1 am, following which two fire tenders rushed to the spot. The fire was brought under control and the fire engines returned by 2.40 am, they said.
The firefighters broke open the second floor flat’s locked door and found the woman, Mahender Kaur, in an unconscious state. Her son Surender Pal (49) was found unconscious on the roof of the flat, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Akshat Kaushal said.
Both were rushed to the Acharya Bhikshu Hospital, where Kaur was declared brought dead. Pal was shifted to the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, he added.
It was observed that the fire had burnt the bed of Mahender Kaur, who was bedridden, and the one in the guest room. Burnt cardboard pieces were found near the gas stove and in the bedroom of Kaur. A cardboard was also found on the roof near Pal, police said.
It is suspected that Kaur died of suffocation. The autopsy will ascertain the exact cause of death, they said.
Pal had returned from London four to five years ago. It was revealed that he was suffering from depression for the last few months and his father is in the ICU of a hospital A crime team and a forensic team have been called to the spot, police said.
Police said that according to a preliminary investigation, Pal consumed 10 to 12 sleeping pills and went to the terrace. He had planned to jump off the terrace, they claimed.
A case under sections 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc) and 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered and further investigation is underway, police said, adding that the suspected role of deceased’s son is being probed.
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