Tragedy Strikes in Delhi as Four Family Members Succumb to ‘Angithi’ Smoke Inhalation

New Delhi: Four of a family, husband-wife and their two minor children, died due to suffocation caused by an ‘angithi (coal brazier)’ in their house in Delhi, an official said on Sunday.

The deceased were identified as Rakesh alias Dinanath (40), a native of district Munger in Bihar, his wife Lalita (38), and their children, Piyush (8) and Sunny (7).

According to police, on Sunday at around 7 a.m. a police control room (PCR) call was received at the Alipur police station that one person was lying unconscious at Khera Kalan.

“The PCR van and local staff promptly rushed to the spot. Upon arrival, they found that the room was locked from the inside. In response, the window was opened by breaking the glass, and subsequently, the door was also opened,” said a senior police official.

Inside the room, four people were found unconscious, with an angithi burning.

“Initial observations suggest that all four individuals succumbed to suffocation. The scene of crime (SOC) has been thoroughly inspected by the Crime team and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team. The bodies have been relocated to the BJRM Hospital for post-mortem examination.” said the official.

“The proceedings under 174 CrPC have been initiated and exhibits were lifted from SOC to rule out any foul play. Further investigation is going on,” the official added.

Earlier in the day, two Nepalese nationals were found dead on Sunday with police saying that they died due to suffocation caused by an ‘angithi (coal brazier)’ in the servant quarters of a house in west Delhi.

The deceased were identified as Ram Bahadur alias Som Bahadur (57) and Abhishek (22), both natives of Lumbini in Nepal.

The official said that Ram Bahadur had been working as a driver while Abhishek was working as a domestic help since last one month in a house in Inderpuri.