Retired IAF officer burnt alive in room blaze

A former air force officer was Saturday burnt to death in a fire that broke out following an electrical short circuiting in the room heater at his house here, police said.

Balwant Singh, 75, a retired Indian Air Force officer, was burnt alive in his room here in Patel Nagar.

His son, J.S. Bhardwaj, is a colonel in the Indian Army and currently posted in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh.

"My brother returned from Dalhousie a few days ago and was to return after a couple of days," Satnam Kaur, elder sister of Balwant, told IANS.

Kaur lives with her family in another house in the same colony of Patel Nagar.

"balwant Singh was alone in his room on the ground floor. The upper section of the house was rented out. The tenants noticed smoke coming out of the room of the victim early morning," Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Surender Pal Singh told IANS.

His body was in sitting position on an easy chair with the room heater before it.

"A badly burnt body was found on the chair. The curtains, bed sheets, books and other items in the room were also burnt," the police officer said.

"Although the case very much seems like a fire due to a short circuiting in the room heater, we are also investigating other angles," he added.