Toddler charred to death in mishap

Two other kids sleeping in the hut were rescued

 A two-year-old boy was charred to death when the hut in which he was sleeping caught fire in Hosabande near Bagalur on Tuesday. 

The victim, Chetan, was a native of Jamalpur in Surpur of Yadgir district and son of Appanna and Pushpavathi. As many as 10 adjoining huts were also gutted in the blaze. The personnel of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services doused the fire.

According to Bagalur police, the mishap occurred when Appanna and Pushpavathi were away at work. Pushpavathi’s relatives Chandravva and Bhagyashree, Chetan and children of Appanna’s relatives, nine-month-old Dilip Kumar and two-year-old Divya, were at home.

Chetan, Dilip and Divya were sleeping beside Bhagyashree, while Chandravva was cooking. Police suspect that sparks from the stove came in contact with the hay in the shanty, triggering a major fire. The flames quickly spread to neighbouring houses.

While Chandravva and Bhagyashree rushed out along with Dilip and Divya, they could not rescue Chethan, who was already charred to death.

However, local residents claimed that illegal mining was rampant near Hosabande and several residents stored explosives in their huts, which led to frequent fire mishaps. Since local politicians were involved in illegal mining, not many came forward to lodge complaints against them, they said.
The police did not find any clues on the stored explosives at the mishap spot.

The police will register a case and investigate if a complaint is lodged, said DCP (North East), Suresh.

Killed in drunken brawl

A real estate broker was killed in a drunken brawl with his friend in Kaveripura, off Sahakara Nagar Main Road. The deceased has been identified as Vijay Kumar, 38, a resident of Sahakara Nagar.
Police sources said Vijay Kumar along with his friend Mahesh Bhat, a jewellery shop owner, had been to a bar in Kaveripura, off Sahakara Nagar Main Road, on Monday night.

A tiff broke out between the two soon after they came out of the bar and Mahesh allegedly pushed Vijay Kumar. An inebriated Kumar fell down banging his head onto a cement pavement and sustained severe head injuries.

Mahesh shifted Vijay to a nearby private hospital where he died on Tuesday. Kodigehalli police registered a case and detained Mahesh.