Three minor siblings charred to death in MP house fire; CM announces aid of Rs 18 lakh to family

Three minor siblings, including two sisters, were charred to death in a massive fire that broke out in a 'kachcha' (mud) house in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district on Saturday afternoon, police said.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav termed the incident ''extremely tragic and heart-rending'' and announced financial assistance of Rs 18 lakh to the family.

The incident occurred at around 1pm in Kashihawa village under the Jamodi area, 10 km off the Sidhi district headquarters.

The deceased were identified as Riddhi Ramratan Saket (1.5 years), Sandhya Saket (6 years), and their brother Nagendra Saket (3), an official said.

A short circuit is believed to have sparked the fire, Jamodi police station in-charge officer Divya Prakash Tripathi told PTI over the phone, citing preliminary information.

''The fire spread rapidly through the mud structure, trapping the children inside the house, which was locked from the outside,'' Tripathi said.

Police said the mother of the children had gone to a ration shop, while their father, Ramratan Saket, was in Sidhi city to work as a labourer when the incident occurred.

Villagers rushed to the spot and tried to douse the flames, but the children could not be rescued in time. They also claimed fire tenders arrived at the scene later.

Tripathi said police registered a case and launched an investigation.

Officials said the state government would provide Rs 2 lakh each (per child), while the Madhya Pradesh Poorv Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited would give Rs 4 lakh each (per child) as relief assistance.

The Sidhi district administration also provided Rs 15,000 as funeral assistance and Rs 20,000 each from the District Red Cross Society as immediate relief, officials said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)