Sidhi, May 23 (IANS) In a devastating tragedy that has shocked an entire village, three young siblings were burnt alive after a sudden fire engulfed their tiled-roof house in Kasihwa village of Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district on Saturday.

The victims included two sisters and their younger brother, who were trapped inside the house while their parents were away. The incident has left the local community in deep mourning and raised serious concerns over fire safety in rural households.

The deceased children have been identified as three-year-old Riddhi Saket, eight-year-old Ragini Saket and their five-year-old brother. Their father, Ramratan Saket, had left early in the morning for daily wage work in the city, while their mother had gone out to buy groceries.

The three children were alone at home when the fire suddenly broke out.

Another sister of the victims narrowly escaped the tragedy as she was staying at her maternal grandparents’ house at the time.

According to villagers, the children screamed for help as the flames rapidly spread through the house.

Local residents rushed to the spot and made desperate attempts to douse the flames and rescue the children. However, due to the intensity of the blaze and the lack of adequate water and resources, their efforts failed.

The fire brigade reached the village nearly two hours after the incident was reported. By then, the entire house had been reduced to ashes, with thick smoke still rising from the debris.

Upon receiving information about the incident, Jamodi police station in-charge Divya Prakash Tripathi arrived at the spot along with a police team.

With the help of villagers, the bodies of the three children were recovered from the ruins. After completing the necessary panchnama and legal formalities, the bodies were sent for post-mortem examination.

A large number of villagers gathered at the site, expressing grief and shock over the heart-rending loss.

Sidhi Collector Vikas Mishra visited Kasihwa village to assess the situation and console the bereaved family.

Expressing profound sorrow, the Collector described the incident as extremely tragic and unfortunate. He said the exact cause of the fire was being thoroughly investigated.

While some villagers suspect a short circuit to be the possible cause, authorities have assured that strict action will be taken if any negligence is found.

The Collector also assured prompt financial assistance to the family under the government’s Sambal Yojana and other applicable welfare schemes.

–IANS

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