Late night Thursday, a leading medical store owner lost his life in the most tragic fire incident when he was burnt alive by a fire in his house that he owned in the upscale area of New Jawahar Nagar. The flames had already snatched away Atul Sood, who owned a well-known medical store, and left two people severely injured. Sood was reported to be sleeping on the third floor with his wife when the fire engulfed him. His wife sustained burn injuries. Atul Sood is described to be one who is going to be left behind by three children and is a popular figure of local politics running a medical store in Company Bagh.
The flames were soon put under control by the firefighters. In the exercise, however, one of the firefighters got seriously injured when a glass panel broke off and injured his hand. In response to the incident, police from the Division No. 6 station also reacted swiftly after being reported on.
The reports also said that the initial flame in the house may have been from a diya- an oil lamp. Loud explosions went off from within the house as the flames spread and the employees working nearby were evacuated from the area. Employees Bhagat Singh and Jagdish escaped but Ram Lal was trapped. He was retrieved through the use of a ladder.
The firefighters went inside after the fire was doused and found Atul Sood’s dead body. The police initiated an investigation into the incident, which would be escalated to the next level after the post-mortem of the dead body of Sood.
The city is in shock over this tragic incident as people are still mourning over the death of a respected businessman and a well-known figure in the community.