FOUR PERSONS KILLED DUE TO SUFFOCATION

30-DEC-ENG 14

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

BUXAR------------------------------The two innocent children in the case of four deaths due to stove smoke in a closed room were residents of Buxar. They had gone from Varanasi to their maternal grandparents' house in Ambika Colony, Bharat Milap Chowk, under the Bhagwan Bazar police station area of Chhapra district, to celebrate the winter holidays.

The two innocent children in the case of four deaths due to stove smoke in a closed room were residents of Buxar. They had gone from Varanasi to their maternal grandparents' house in Ambika Colony, Bharat Milap Chowk, under the Bhagwan Bazar police station area of Chhapra district, to celebrate the winter holidays. At that time, the grandmother, Kalavati Devi, mother Anjali, aunt Amisha, aunt's daughter Adhyay, and two innocent children from Buxar, Tejas, aged 3 and 7 months, were sleeping in one room. Both deceased children have been identified as Sanjay Kumar Rai, alias Vijay Kumar Rai, son of Di Narayan Rai, a resident of Sikraul village in the Rajpur police station area of Buxar district. His father, Sanjay Kumar Rai, is a PCS officer and is posted as the CO in Jaunpur. Upon receiving information about the incident, family members from the village arrived in Patna.

According to family members, after dinner at around 10 p.m., everyone began preparing for bed. Due to the extreme cold, the seven family members decided to sleep together in a room on the first floor. The room contained the elderly grandmother, Kamlavati Devi (70), her son Amit Kumar, daughters Amisha and Anjali, and three young children, Tejas (3), Adhyay (4), and 7-month-old Gudiya. A brazier (borsi) was lit under the bed to protect themselves from the cold. They often slept in the room with the brazier lit. After lighting the brazier, the door was closed from the inside, and the windows were also nearly shut to prevent cold air. The red flames of the fireplace were slowly warming the room. Around 5-6 AM, someone felt uneasy. It is reported that Amit Kumar experienced mild discomfort. He somehow managed to compose himself and tried to open the room door. As soon as he got some fresh air, he regained some consciousness. He looked back and saw that there was no movement in the room. The children were lying completely still, and the grandmother was also not moving. In a panic, he tried to wake the others, but there was no response. By then, his condition had also worsened. Hearing the commotion, other family members sleeping on the lower floor arrived. As soon as the door was fully opened, a heavy, suffocating air rushed out of the room. Everyone was immediately rushed to Chhapra Sadar Hospital. After examination, the doctors declared Kamalawati Devi, Tejas, Adhyay, and Gudiya dead. Meanwhile, Amit Kumar, Amisha, and Anjali remain in critical condition. Given their serious condition, they have been referred to Patna.