Police said Ria Thakur, a parlour owner, and her cousin Manish were burned alive (Representational)
Two persons living in a private hostel were burnt alive while 13 others sustained serious burn injuries when a fire broke out in the building in Kanpur early this morning. According to the police, the fire broke out in the two-storeyed hostel building at around 3:30 am.
Fire tenders were able to bring the flames under control after nearly three hours.
The deceased have been identified as Ria Thakur (25), a beauty parlour owner, and her cousin Manish (24). Those with burn injuries were admitted to a hospital.
DIG, Kanpur Range, Sonia Singh said, "Prima facie it seems that the fire was caused due to a short circuit."
According to Circle Officer (CO), Kalyanpur, Rajneesh Verma, the hostel owner Baijnath and one of his sons KK Singh live in their native village, while his elder son Dharmendra lived in the hostel and carried out a cable business.
"Ria Thakur (25) a beauty parlour owner and her cousin Manish (24) were burnt alive," Mr Verma said.
Police said a complaint was lodged by local residents, and investigations are on.
In the hostel-cum-residence, 15 persons -- eight family members of Mr Singh, five students of a coaching institute, a beauty parlour owner and one of her cousins who had come to visit her -- were present when the fire broke out.
A car and huge stock of electric cables kept in the underground store room were destroyed in the blaze.