A 42-year-old Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) head constable died in a fire at the training directorate office of the force in south Delhi’s R K Puram in the wee hours of Saturday. The fire engulfed the third and fourth floors of the building.
According to police, thick plume of smoke was reported from the building at 1.30 am.
“The incident was reported when the fire alarms in the building went off. Seven fire tenders were used to bring the situation under control by 3 am,” said a Delhi Fire Services officer.
The blaze is suspected to have been caused from a short circuit, but the fire department is yet to confirm the exact cause.
Head constable Lingam Gauda’s body was later found under a computer table.
He had sustained serious burns and was declared dead at the spot.
After initial probe, police and the fire department said the fire broke out in the Electronic Data Processing (EDP) centre of the force.
The EDP cell of the CRPF is based in the training directorate wing and deals with the online record management of salary and other emoluments of the force.
According to CRPF media coordinator Tamal Sanyal, head constable Lingam used to sleep inside the building.
When the fire broke out, he apparently called a security guard posted near the building.
“The guard made a call to the fire department and went to the building, but failed to save the head constable due to fire and smoke,” Sanyal said.
Senior CRPF officers tried to contact head constable Lingam on his mobile phone, but he did not respond.
“He might have died due to suffocation by the time the firefighters reached the spot and took him out of the building,” Sanyal added.
A police team from R K Puram police station is investigating the incident.
Fire in CBI
A minor fire broke out at the headquarters of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in south Delhi’s CGO Complex on Saturday.
No one was injured. A call was made at 11 am after which seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot, said Delhi Fire Services.
“Smoke was noticed on the fifth floor of the building after which seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot. It was not allowed to get out of control and was doused within 30 minutes,” said a fire officer.
A short circuit in an air-conditioner was suspected to be the reason behind the blaze.
“It was a minor fire as only a small area was affected. The exact cause will be ascertained after the fire department and police conclude their investigations,” the officer added.