Delhi suffocation deaths: Couple's family asks why shutter was 'electrified', demands govt help

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) A day after a couple suffocated to death inside their grocery shop in Delhi's Tikri Kalan, their family demanded a thorough probe into "how electric current flowed through the shop's shutter", preventing anyone from pulling it open during the blaze.

Vineet (31) and his wife Renu (29) died after getting trapped in their smoke-filled shop on Friday evening. They are survived by their two children -- Aditya, 10, and Om, 8.

After noticing smoke drifting out of the shutter, the children first raised an alarm, calling their uncle in panic.

"He tried to pull the shutter up, but the moment he touched it, he was thrown back. There was current flowing through it. How can that happen? We want to know the truth," Renu's sister, Alka, said. She said the family was unable to understand how the shutter got pulled down while the couple was still inside.

"We want a fair and transparent investigation. We have full trust in the police and are sure they will investigate the matter properly," she added.

Vineet's mother, Rampyaari, said both her son and daughter-in-law worked tirelessly to support the family and give their children a stable future.

"Now the little boys have no one left. The government must help us. Our earning members are gone," she said.

Relatives said the children were in deep shock after the incident. Police said they are investigating the matter.

"If there was any current passing through the shutter is being examined as part of the ongoing inquiry," a senior officer said. PTI BM PRK PRK