The Hindu : New Delhi News : Four of a family suffocated to death

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 21, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Four of a family suffocated to death

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Trying to beat the winter chill with a burning "angeethi" in a closed room ended in tragedy for a family when four of its members, including a 13-day old infant, were asphyxiated to death and two others fell ill at Dwarka in South-West Delhi on Tuesday.

According to the police, the incident occurred in the house of Chhote Lal, a resident of Kakrola village. Chhote Lal's daughter-in-law, Pooja, had woken up around 5-30 a.m. to feed her 13-day-old son, who was sleeping in another room with his mother-in-law, Ram Lali.

Apart from these two, Chhote Lal, his mother Rambeti (60), his children -- Suman (16) and Monu (13) -- were also sleeping in the same room. An angeethi was left burning in the room with the windows and the doors closed for warmth.

Pooja tried to wake her child up but he did not respond. She then tried to wake up her mother-in-law, but she too did not get up. Pooja then got worried and raised an alarm. The neighbours gathered there and then rushed all the occupants of the room, who had fallen unconscious, to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital. Ram Lali, Suman, Monu and the 13-day-old infant were declared dead on arrival. Chhote Lal and Rambeti have been admitted to hospital.

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