In Bihar: PCS Officer Loses Three Children to Poisonous Smoke

Chhapra, Bihar: A tragic incident unfolded in Chhapra where four members of a family, including three children, died of suffocation caused by smoke from a burning stove during the night of December 26.

The deceased have been identified as 3-year-old Tejas, 4-year-old Adhyay, 7-month-old Gudiya and their 70-year-old grandmother Kamlavati Devi. Tejas and Adhyay were sons of Amisha Devi and PCS officer Vijay Singh, the District Cooperative Officer of Varanasi. Gudiya was the daughter of Anjali Devi.

Four others — Amisha Devi, Anjali Devi, Amit Kumar and Amrita Devi — are in critical condition and undergoing treatment on ventilators at Ruban Hospital in Patna.

According to family members, after dinner, the family slept in a closed hall to escape the cold. Rice straw and cow dung cakes were burnt in a fireplace, which filled the air-blocked room with carbon monoxide, leading to suffocation during sleep.

By morning, there was no response from those inside. When the door was opened, smoke poured out and one family member fainted. Neighbours rushed the victims to Chhapra Sadar Hospital, from where the critically ill were referred to Patna.

On receiving the news, Vijay Singh rushed from Varanasi and broke down at the hospital. Weeping, he said he had left his sons at their grandmother’s house just three days ago and had promised to bring them chips on his return.

Gudiya’s father Deepak, who works at an ornament shop in Chhapra, also mourned the loss of his infant daughter.

Kamlavati Devi’s body was sent for postmortem at Chhapra Sadar Hospital, while the three children were cremated on Saturday evening.

Doctors said carbon monoxide, a colourless and odourless gas, spreads unnoticed and induces deep sleep before proving fatal.

The children had come to their maternal grandparents’ home to spend the winter holidays.

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