75-yr-old charred to death as wooden house catches fire in Shimla

SHIMLA : A 75-year-old woman was burnt alive in the fire that broke out in her house in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla district in the early hours of Tuesday, police said. The incident took place in Khalti under the Shahdhar Panchayat of Rangori village in Rampur sub-division.

The deceased woman named Shukri Devi was burnt alive in the fire that broke out at 2 am at the house of former Deputy Pradhan Mansingh.

Deputy Superintendant of Police (DSP) Rampur Zone, Chandrashekhar said "The cause of the fire is not known at the moment".

Fire Brigade was unable to arrive in time to douse the fire.

Deputy Pradhan of Shahdhar Panchayat, Dilip said, "The incident took place sometime around 2 or 3' o'clock this morning. Everyone was sleeping in their homes when the fire broke out and the eight-room house made of wood was completely burnt to ashes. Since the village is far away from the road it became difficult for fire tenders to arrive in time to control the blaze. Neighbours were not aware of the fire and people started gathering at the spot only in the morning."

Tehsildar Sarahan Bhim Singh Negi said that administration and revenue department officials have been dispatched to the site with relief materials. Officials have not completed a damage assessment.

Meanwhile, earlier last week, a fire triggered by a short circuit engulfed a house in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi at midnight and which claimed the lives of an infant and a couple.

The house caught fire due to a short circuit while the residents were sleeping. While the infant who was only 27-days-old was charred to death on the spot his parents succumbed while undergoing treatment at the Lucknow Trauma Centre.