CHENNAI: A family of three, including a two-year-old girl child, were charred to death after a fire broke out at a house in Kannivakkam near Guduvanchery in the early hours of Tuesday. The Guduvanchery police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.
The deceased were identified as Parthiban (34), his wife Chitra (29), and their two-year-old daughter Jayashree.
The family, residents of Pandur near Guduvanchery, had come to stay at Parthiban’s elder sister Maheshwari (37) house at JJ Nagar in Kannivakkam. Police said Parthiban usually went out for construction work during the day, while Chitra and the girl would often stay at Maheshwari’s house.
On Monday night, Maheshwari’s son Pavan Kumar reportedly fell ill and was taken to a hospital in Selaiyur near Tambaram. Maheshwari, her husband Ramnath (45) and parents Moorthy (63) and Pushpa (56), went to the hospital on Monday evening, while Parthiban, Chitra and the child stayed at the house.
When the family returned around 1 am, they noticed smoke and flames billowing through the windows of the house, sources said. Maheshwari immediately alerted the Maraimalai Nagar fire and rescue services and the Guduvanchery police.
“We first doused the fire. When we tried to open the windows, they were locked from the inside. We made an opening in the burnt portion and inside we found the three victims in a charred condition,” said a senior fire officer who was part of the rescue team.
Amid initial reports that the fire could have originated from a mosquito coil, police said that they have no evidence to support this claim, so far.
Police sources said the house was located slightly away from the main road and neighbouring houses were at least 100m away, which is why the fire was not noticed immediately by neighbours. The bodies were sent to the Chengalpattu Government Hospital for autopsy.
Police have registered a case and are examining CCTV footage in the area to ascertain the cause of the fire.