Two suffocated to death in fire at Gandhinagar building

Four of the 16 offices in the complex were reduced to ashes

Two people died of suffocation when a fire engulfed a four-storey building at Gandhinagar here on Sunday afternoon. At least four of the 16 offices in the building were reduced to ashes in the inferno.

The deceased have been identified as Nayaz ,60, a resident of Jakkur in Yelahanka and Sundar, 61, a resident of West of Chord Road in Rajajinagar. 

Nayaz worked as a clerk for the advocate who had his office in the building while Sundar was a client who had come to meet the advocate.

According to police, the fire broke out at around 2.30 pm and spread to the second floor of the building. Nayaz and Sundar rushed to the door, but died of suffocation as the entire building was engulfed in smoke.

Neighbours alerted

Smoke billowing out of the building alerted the neighbours, who called the fire brigade and the owner of the property, Anand Bhandari, and other advocates having offices in the building.  It took half-an-hour for the fire brigade to reach the spot with two fire tenders and the blaze was brought under control after an hour-long operation.

Nayaz and Sundar were found lying dead when the fire fighters entered the building, The bodies were then shifted to Victoria Hospital for autopsy. An electric short-circuit is said to have caused the fire.

Flaw in building design

Advocate Rajesh and Harish Kumar, who have offices in the building rued that all their documents, including many original ones were gutted. 

They added that it was the fourth time that an electrical mishap had triggered fire in the building.

They alleged that the owner of the building had not taken any measures to repair the faulty electrical wiring.

The Upparpet police have registered a case.