Patna: Two women and a six-month-old girl died after a fire broke out at a house in the Old Bypass area of Bakhtiyarpur in Patna district on Saturday evening. The victims were trapped on the upper floor as flames spread rapidly from a hardware and parts shop on the ground floor.The deceased were identified as 35-year-old Reema Devi, wife of Pankaj Kumar, her mother-in-law Geeta Devi, 60, and six-month-old Sundari, daughter of Shivam Kumar, a resident of Hisua in Nawada.Barh SDPO-II Ayush Shrivastava said the fire appeared to have started during a “havan” at the shop around 6.30pm. “The flames reportedly caught a curtain and then spread to plastic sheets and other combustible materials kept in the hardware shop. The shop, operating by Pankaj, contained hardware items and mobil oil, a petroleum-based product that intensified the fire,” he said.“Prima facie, the three victims appear to have died due to smoke inhalation. They became trapped in the smoke-filled upper floor. However, the exact cause of death will be confirmed by doctors,” Shrivastava said.He said most people inside were evacuated safely. “One woman, the mother of the deceased child, and cousin of Pankaj, was rescued, while two others on the ground floor managed to come out immediately. The three victims were trapped on the upper floor.”Firefighting teams from Bakhtiyarpur, Barh and Athmalgola brought the blaze under control. The victims were taken to hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Their bodies were sent to Barh Sub-divisional Hospital for post-mortem examination.Police reached the spot and hospital and began investigating the fire..
