7-year-old killed in cylinder blast

A seven-year-old boy was killed in a cylinder blast at his home in outer Delhi’s Bawana on Friday night.

 He succumbed to his injuries at a hospital on Saturday afternoon.

His mother has accused the gas providers of negligence for the accident. A case of negligent conduct with respect to fire has been registered at Narela police station and is being probed.

The victim Ranjeet’s father Ashok works as a mason and the family lives in Bawana’s JJ Colony. Ashok was away when the accident took place at around 9 pm on Friday.

According to Ranjeet’s mother Champa Devi, the boy was watching television in the drawing room while she was cooking in her kitchen located on the first floor of the building. She had gone out of the kitchen for a while to drink water. When she returned, she found that the cooking gas was leaking, she told police in her statement.

Before she could react, the cylinder exploded, setting the house on fire. The woman managed to escape the blaze, but Ranjeet went up in flames. He rushed out of the house with his clothes on fire.

Hearing his screams, locals rushed to Ranjeet’s aid and doused the flames. Someone informed the fire department upon which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. It took them over an hour to bring the fire under control.

Ranjeet, meanwhile, had already suffered serious burns and was rushed to a local hospital by his neighbours. Given the extent of burns, he was soon referred to Lok Nayak Hospital. That, however, proved futile as he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.

Police registered a case based on Ranjeet’s mother’s statement. She told police she had subscribed to Indane gas connection and alleged that it was their negligence that led to her son’s death.