Five of family burnt to death in Assam

Five members of a family including two children were charred to death when a cooking gas cylinder burst triggering fire at their house in Dibrugarh district of upper Assam, police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred at Niz Kodomoni near Thermal Colony in Dibrugarh town, district Additional Superintendent of Police Dhruba Bora said.

The cooking gas cylinder in their hut near the railway tracks burst around 1.30 am on Saturday when they were sleeping, he said, adding that they were "burnt to death at the spot" after the fire engulfed their house.

The deceased were identified as Maya Sonar (50), Bishal Sonar (19), Shib Sonar (5), Shankar Sonar (3), Nunu (50), the ASP said.

The bodies have been sent for post mortem examination.

The fire damaged the hut completely and their belongings, Bora said.

Ruling out any sabotage leading to the fire, Bora said senior police personnel and officials of the district administration reached the spot and initiated a preliminary investigation.

Expressing his condolence to the relatives of the deceased, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directed the district Deputy Commissioner of police to conduct an enquiry into the incident.

The state government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.