Tribal couple, son die in sleep; locals say cylinder explosion caused mishap, police smells rat

Mystery shrouds deaths of Budhram Baiga, his wife Hiramati Baiga and son Jonhuram Baiga, who died in their sleep. Though it is believed that they were burnt to death after a cylinder exploded at their home, a police officer, however, says it's too early to arrive at a conclusion as there might be something which apparently did not meet the eye.

Kabirdham (Chhattisgarh): A married tribal couple and their son were burnt in their sleep after fire raged due to gas leakage from cyllinder at their house in the Nagadbara area of Chhattisgarh's Kukdoor on Sunday. Pandaria Police registered a case under section 6(4) of the IPC after gathering details from the spot and conducting postmortem. The deceased belonged to Baiga tribal community of the state.

Soon after the incident, the district collector asked the officers to provide financial assistance of Rs 20,000 to the victim's family under the Tribute Scheme. Locals said Budhram Baiga, his wife Hiramati Baiga and son Jonhuram Baiga, who had gone to attend an event in the evening, went to sleep after returning home oblivious of the fact that tragedy awaited them. They were burnt to death in their sleep after fire raged due to gas leakage from the LPG cylinder at their kitchen.

Villagers were alerted in the morning after they saw smoke billowing out of the house. When they reached the spot, they found their burnt bodies lying on the kitchen floor. They were shocked and informed the police, who sealed the house and initiated a probe.

Although it seems to be a prima facie case of gas leakage, police are yet to arrive at a definitive conclusion. The polices' suspicion arose from the fact that only three died while their house remained intact. According to police, a gas leakage would have destroyed the house.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Pankaj Patel said, "People in villages use fireplaces to escape the cold. It appears to be a case of death by gas leakage. However, investigation is underway." However, Deputy CM Vijay Sharma came up with a different version. He said, "If the cylinder had blasted, it would have been blown everything to pieces and the entire house would have been damaged. That is not the case."

Kabirdham collector Janmejay Mahobe and Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallav reached Nagadbara village with the team late on Monday evening. They met the victim's family and assured them all possible help.