Noida house fire: Only brother of three girls escaped fire by chance
Till Wednesday afternoon, he was still unaware that his siblings were dead, and was told by extended relatives that his parents were at the hospital
On Tuesday night, 12-year-old Abhi should have been sleeping next to his three sisters at their one-room house in Noida’s Sector 8 colony. But instead, he decided to stay at his paternal aunt Sheela’s house on a whim, and that spared him the horror of a fire which claimed the lives of his three sisters, and left his father battling for life.
Till Wednesday afternoon, he was still unaware that his siblings were dead, and was told by extended relatives that “Mummy and Papa have gone to the hospital”.
“Bua (aunt) Shilu told me that there has been an accident and that my parents and sisters are at the hospital. I am just waiting for them to come back. I couldn’t go to the school today as well,” said the 12-year-old as he played with his cousins on Wednesday afternoon.
Recalling Tuesday night’s events, Daulat Ram’s sister Sheela said Abhi compelled his mother Meenu to let him stay at her house for a sleepover. Sheela and her husband Bharat’s home is a few blocks away from Daulat Ram’s home.
“Abhi was playing with my two sons on Tuesday evening. When my Bhabhi (sister-in-law) Meenu came to pick him up, he insisted that he wanted to sleep at our home. Meenu agreed, as accommodating four children in a one-room house gets difficult during these hot and humid nights,” said Sheela, who has four children, all under the age of 13 years.
“While Daulat Ram and the three girls slept in the room, Meenu and I slept on the terrace of their house. Around 11pm, Meenu felt ants biting her and went downstairs to sleep in the room, while I was left alone on the terrace,” said Sheela.
The three girls were sleeping on the bed and Daulat Ram and his wife were on the mat near the door.
“I heard a loud cry around 3.20am following which I rushed downstairs. I saw smoke coming out from the house and then Meenu came rushing out with burns on her hand. Daulat was still inside, trying to save his daughters. I rushed Meenu to the ground floor, as she was not agreeing to leave her daughters and husband alone,” said Sheela, adding that by 3.30am, the fire service unit had arrived following which Daulat Ram and the three sisters were taken out of the home in an unconscious state.
The family of six used to survive on Daulat Ram’s meagre income from driving an e-rickshaw on Noida’s streets, said Sheela.
Sheela’s husband Bharat, who works at a factory in Phase-1, said Daulat Ram used to take his children to school and back.
“Daulat Ram loved his children dearly. The three daughters studied at a government school in New Kondli in Delhi while Abhi studies at the government school in Sector 12,” said Bharat, adding that Daulat Ram had been living in Noida for the past 16 years.
If Abhi had not insisted on staying at my house last night, he could have met the same fate as his sisters. Now, he remains the only child of his parents and we are not able muster the courage to break that news to him,” said Sheela, who is taking care of Abhi till his parents return home.
The family said they will wait for Daulat Ram to be discharged from the hospital before completing the last rites of the three daughters.