At least 12 members of two families died in two separate fires in Madhya Pradesh's Katni and Seoni districts on Diwali night. The victims included children, elderly people and a two-month-old infant.
In the first incident, six members of an Agrawal family died after a fire broke out around midnight in a three-storey building in Barhi town of Katni district. The building housed a crockery shop on the ground floor, and the fire spread quickly to the upper floors where the family was sleeping. Thick smoke and flames trapped them inside.
The deceased were identified as Puran Agrawal (77), his wife Chandrakala (74), daughter-in-law Poonam (35), Arya (14), Anvi (6) and a two-month-old infant. Two other family members escaped in the initial moments of the fire.
Rescue work continued through the night. Puran Agrawal was pulled out around 4.30 a.m., and the remaining five bodies were recovered around 6.30 a.m. after rescuers broke a wall with the help of a JCB machine.
Sub-Divisional Officer of Police Virendra Narve said the cause of the fire was not yet known. He said a diya or a short circuit was suspected, but that the exact reason would be established only after an investigation.
Local residents alleged lapses in the firefighting response, saying the fire tender from Barhi arrived with a damaged pipe and that the vehicle from Vijayraghavgarh also reportedly had a faulty pipe. Fire tenders from Kaimore and the Katni Municipal Corporation later joined the operation and brought the blaze under control.
In the second incident, six members of a family died in a fire at the residence of bullion trader Kundan Soni in Mahavir Ward of Chhapara town in Seoni district, around 3 a.m. The dead were identified as Kundan Lal Soni (75), Rajkumari Soni (65), Ritu Soni (42), Smriti Soni (40), Surya Soni (45) and Aditya Soni (16).
Four other family members, including two minors, were rescued and admitted to hospital. Ten people were in the house when the fire broke out. SDOP Lakhnadon Apoorva Bhalavi said the family members were asleep when the blaze started, leaving them little chance to escape.
The causes of both fires have yet to be ascertained, and police are investigating both incidents. The tragedies have raised concerns over fire safety arrangements and emergency response during festivals.
Both incidents occurred within the same night, and the scale of the losses has left two families and their neighbours in mourning during a festival normally marked by celebration. The deaths in Barhi involved people who were asleep on the upper floors, while in Chhapara the blaze engulfed a home in which ten people were present. In both cases, the reports indicate that the residents had little opportunity to escape once the fire spread.