Two teenagers dead, four injured in fire at e-rickshaw charging facility in East Delhi

Two people were killed on the spot while four others injured in a fire that broke out at a private E-rickshaw charging facility in East Delhi’s Shahdara on Sunday morning, the police said.

According to a police official, a PCR call was received at around 6.40 am in the morning regarding the fire incident at a godown measuring 300 square yards.

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According to the police, the godown was being used for the storage of sugarcane juice machines and parking and charging of  E-rickshaws. The tenant, also in-charge of the godown, has been identified and apprehended while appropriate legal action was underway in this regard.

The deceased have been identified as 19-year-old Brijesh, and 18-year-old Maniram,  a native of Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh.

The four persons sustained burns in the incident are identified as Harishankar (19) with 45 per cent burns,  Rinku (18) with 30 per cent burns, 22-year-old Mukesh and Vipin with 7 per cent burns.

The injured, along with the bodies of the deceased, were rushed to the  GTB Hospital. It has been found during inquiry that the above-mentioned injured and deceased were involved in selling sugarcane juice on the e-rickshaws.

According to the Delhi Fire Services, a total of five fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was doused off within an hour.

Meanwhile, in another incident of fire, a blaze struck a clothing factory in Udyog Nagar, Peeragarhi during early morning hours. However, no casualties or injuries were reported in the incident but the fire fighting continued for some hours with a total deployment of 16 vehicles by the fire department.

Earlier on May 19, a fire incident took place at Bhim Gali, Vishwas Nagar, Shahdara, reportedly due to a short circuit while an e-rickshaw was being charged on the ground floor. At least, six people had to be hospitalised with burns in the incident, of them, two were said to be in a critical condition.

With the number of e-rickshaws increasing in the city, such fires are raising concerns about the situation of the private charging stations and facilities, as to whether they are following proper safety measures and standards for the purpose.