Police personnel at the fire site in the south-west Delhi neighbourhood on Friday.
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Three members of a family were killed and two others critically injured after a fire ripped through a five-storey residential building in south-east Delhi’s Tughlakabad Extension on Friday.The incident comes over a week after a massive fire broke out at the multi-storey Flourish Stay bed-and-breakfast facility in south Delhi’s Hauz Rani on June 3 that left 23 people dead, including many foreign nationals.An officer said the Govindpuri police station received a PCR call about a fire in a residential building at 2.31 a.m. on Friday. Police teams rushed to the spot, where Delhi Fire Services (DFS) personnel were already carrying out rescue operations.“The fire started on the ground floor, where several two-wheelers were parked. Fire and smoke spread to the upper floors, engulfing the first and second floors completely while leaving the upper floors partially damaged. The building was located in a narrow street,” said DFS Assistant Divisional Officer Yashwant Meena.“I heard women crying and everyone screaming for help. Residents of the neighbouring buildings started throwing buckets of water, but it could hardly make a difference to a fire of such intensity,” said Harwant Singh, who lives opposite the building.District Magistrate (South East) Sravan Bagaria said around 35-40 people were rescued from the building.Residents said nine families lived in the building, but many had left for their villages. The building is located in an unauthorised colony. The police said CCTV footage from nearby buildings is being examined to establish the sequence of events. Crime and forensic teams also inspected the site as part of the investigation.Case registeredA preliminary inquiry suggests the fire was sparked by an electrical short circuit on the ground floor, the police said, adding that a case has been registered and a probe launched.“The fire quickly engulfed seven parked vehicles, including an electric scooter that was being charged. This appears to be the probable cause, but the exact reason will be determined after a detailed investigation,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Hemant Tiwari.The deceased were identified as Pankaj, 28; his maternal grandmother Shushila Devi, 70; and his sister Soni, 20, all residents of the building’s third floor. His mother, Guddi Devi, 50, and younger sister, Mani, 18, were admitted to the burns unit at Safdarjung Hospital.Pankaj was the family’s sole breadwinner after his father died of cancer. He ran a mobile exchange business from home. Soni worked as a designer and Ms. Mani is pursuing a website development course.“Sushila stayed with them to help Guddi, who could not speak. She wanted to support the family in every way,” said Suresh Pandey, Pankaj’s uncle. Published - June 13, 2026 01:29 am IST
