Neighbours put up a picture of the couple that perished in the fire at Yakutpura.
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Mahmood Amoodi, a resident of Chandra Nagar in Yakutpura, was out to get the customary after-dinner paan (betel leaf) around 10.30 p.m. on Monday when he saw fumes coming out of the first floor of an old house in the lane. Not wasting a minute, he alerted the Fire and Police departments and sprang into action with his brother Faisal Amoodi and friend Abdul Rahman to rescue the family trapped in the fire.
A policeman inspecting the spot where the fire took place late on Monday night.
| Photo Credit:
NAGARA GOPAL
“Seconds later, I heard girls screaming Save us, save us. Two girls were stranded in the terrace. We did not have time to wait. They had to be taken out immediately,” Mahmood said.
Couple dies
Recounting the incident, Abdul said, “I was about 300 metres away from the spot when I saw the smoke. A few of us gathered in front of the house and tried to douse the flames with water from the borewell in the colony. We then moved the gas cylinder out of the premises. As we went upstairs, Mohan Lal, 55, was lying unconscious on the staircase connecting the ground floor to the first. A few more steps into the hall, there was Usha Devi, 51, who did not respond either. The couple died on the spot.”
Shruti Gupta, 15, their grand-daughter, was in the last room of the smoke-filled floor. “Even she was unconscious when we picked her up. She was rushed to Osmania General Hospital in an auto,” Abdul, who suffered burn injuries in his hands while rescuing the family, said.
Another group of locals rescued two girls from the same family, who were trapped inside the penthouse. They were shifted to the adjacent terrace.
Living for 50 years
The family has been living in the area for over 50 years. While Mohan and his wife Usha lived on the first floor, the ground floor and penthouse were occupied by the families of his two brothers, said one of the neighbours, Bajrang Prasad Gupta, also the president of Bhunjwa Samaj Samiti. The couple had four daughters, he said.
A retired Telecom official, Mohan and his wife used to sell South Indian breakfast items like dosas and idlis in a cart.
On the morning of Dhanteras on Tuesday, which marks the beginning of Deepavali, the top portion of the off-white building turned grey while the floors and staircase were covered with debris and grease.
As the news spread, the narrow colony, right behind Yakutpura railway station, saw a huge crowd of people along with investigating officials. Family members, who would have otherwise gathered to exchange wishes and sweets, broke into tears when two young men hung a picture of the deceased couple on the pole right outside the house.
Local associations requested the government to provide compensation to the family.
After receiving a distress call at 11 p.m. on Monday, a mist jeep was sent to the area to control the fire, District Fire Officer of Hyderabad T. Venkanna said. “The fire started possibly after a blast when the couple tried to light up the gas stove that was kept in the balcony of the first floor. Later, it touched the firecrackers stored in the hall. Most of the utensils, furniture and refrigerator were destroyed. It took about 10 minutes to douse the flames. But, the damage was done by then,” he said.
Rein Bazaar police said that two cartons of firecrackers were stored in the house, which the couple planned to sell a day before Deepavali.
Published – October 29, 2024 08:26 pm IST
