A pall of gloom descended in Khanyar locality of Srinagar’s Old City area on Saturday when three of the family members including a married couple and their three-year-old daughter were charred to death in a blaze that broke out in the intervening night of Friday-Saturday.The married couple had, however, managed to rescue their other daughter, who is only seven-year-old. She was identified as Saida Javaid.According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), locals said that a massive fire broke out from the house where Javaid Ahmad Hakak was living on rent at around 12:00AM in the mid night. They said that the fire turned the building into ashes within one hour.The locals said soon people started screaming about the fire, they rushed to the spot, but the massive flames kept them out of home. “We screamed outside the house, but none from the family replied,” one of the locals told—KNO.He added that the fire tenders also didn’t reach the spot on time. “We risked out lives to go inside the house, but found three of the family burnt alive,” the local, visibly frightened of the incident said.The three deceased were identified as Javaid Ahmad Hakak, his wife, Safiya Javaid and their three-year-old daughter Hafsa Javaid. Javaid, as per the locals was living on the house on rent as his own house was under construction, located close to his rented accommodation.
According to the locals, the other daughter of the married couple was rescued by her mother. “Their daughter has said that she was rescued by her mother outside the house, saying ‘she will bring her sister out also, but she didn’t come’,” the locals added.The emotional scenes were, however, witnessed at Dastgeer Sahab (RA) shrine, where the funeral prayers of the deceased were held in the afternoon.Witnesses said that a number of funeral prayers were held for the deceased outside the shrine in which hundreds of people participated. The roads leading to the shrine was also sealed by the authorities during the funeral prayers.The womenfolk near the place where funeral prayers were held were seen wailing and praying for their heavenly abode.The trio was later buried at their ancestral graveyard at Baha-ud-din Sahab, Hakim Shah Masjid in Gojwara area of Srinagar.Back home, the locals living adjacent are apprehending that the death of the trio is a murder, saying that “it seems something fishy has taken place as it looks impossible that only one family member could be rescued out of four. The matter needs to be investigated thoroughly so that the facts will be brought to the public.”The locals said that bodies were taken to the Police Control Room (PCR) in the intervening night for the conduct of post-mortem.Superintendent of Police (SP) North, Al-Tahir Gilani told—KNO that the post-mortem has been conducted to the deceased and investigation is on.Meanwhile, the district administration Srinagar has also announced Rs 15 lakh compensation to the Next of Kins (NoKs) of the deceased family. The administration has said that the amount will be deposited into the account of deceased Javid’s daughter and also it will bear all the expenses including education of the lone survival of the family.Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary also confirmed the compensation to the NoKs of deceased family—(KNO)