Three girl students burn alive as fire broke out in a PG in Chandigarh, house owner arrested   

Three girl students were charred to death in Chandigarh when a major fire broke out in the house where they were staying as paying guests  (PGs) on Saturday. Two others were critically injured when they jumped off the first floor of the house to escape the blaze.

The incident occurred in the densely populated Sector 32 when the fire broke out on the first floor of a residential building where the girls were staying as PGs.

The deceased have been identified as Riya, a resident of Kapurthala ( Punjab ), Pakshi, of Kotkapura (Punjab ) and Muskan from Hissar in Haryana. Two, who sustained critical injuries include Famina and Jasmine Kaur, jumped off the window of their washroom to escape the blaze.

All the victims were between 19 to 22 years of age and most of them were out of the house when the tragedy struck. There were almost 30 girls staying in the house as PGs, the area residents informed.

According to eyewitnesses, hearing the shrieks and the smoke billowing out of the house, the residents of the nearby buildings assembled at the spot and called the fire brigade. Four fire tenders were pressed to service, they informed.

Chandigarh Superintendent of Police Vineet Kumar informed that receiving information a police party was sent to the crime scene.

Preliminary enquiry revealed that the fire broke out due to short circuit at the PG killing three girls, he said, adding that the injured were rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, where the doctors declared three brought dead. Two other women have been admitted with breathing-related complications and burn injuries.

Though the exact cause of the fire is yet to be found out, an electric short circuit could be a reason, the SP added.

Meanwhile the police has arrested house owner Nitesh Bansal and booked Gaurav Aneja, who ran the PG business under various provisions of Sections 336( endangering life), 188 (disobedience of orders), 34 (common intension) and 304 ( culpable homicide) of the IPC.  House owner Gaurav Aneja and Nitesh Bansal, who ran the PG business, have been booked under Sections 336 (endangering life), 188 (disobedience of order), 34 (common intention) and 304 (culpable homicide) of the IPC. Bansal has been arrested by the police.

The  investigations to find out the violations by the PG owners are on by the Chandigarh administration, the DC claimed.