Ludhiana fire: Police said the cause of the fire is yet to be established.
Seven members of a family of migrants from Bihar were burnt alive in a fire that broke out in their hut in Ludhiana on Wednesday morning, police said. The dead included a two-year-old boy.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (East) Surinder Singh said the incident took place while they were asleep in their hut near the municipal garbage dump yard on the Tibba road.
Tibba police station SHO Ranbir Singh identified the victims as a couple and their five children.
The cause of the fire is yet to be established, he said.
The dead were identified as Suresh Sahni (55), a labourer, his wife Reena Devi (53), their daughters Raakhi, Meenakshi, Geeta and Chanda, and two-year-old son Sunny.
The dead belonged to Bogopur village of Samastipur district in Bihar, police said.
Ram Babu Sahni, a close relative of the dead family, said Suresh was planning to go to his native village in a day or so for his elder daughter's marriage, which was scheduled for April 30.
Bindeshi Sharma, a neighbour of the victims, told reporters that Suresh Sahni had come to Ludhiana from Bihar about 25 years ago.
According to him, a motorcycle was seen moving around in the area only a few minutes before the fire was noticed.
He said police must investigate this point also.
On the other hand, police ruled out any crime angle.
SHO Ranbir Singh said in preliminary investigations nothing suspicious was found.
Forensic experts have taken the samples and the footage of the two nearby CCTV cameras is being examined, he added.
Their relatives have been informed about the incident and the bodies have been sent to the local Civil Hospital for post-mortem, said police.
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