Miscreants set house ablaze, man charred to death in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 14:

An elderly man was charred to death at Narada slum in Balipatna area on the outskirts of Odisha capital late on yesterday night.

According to reports, some miscreants allegedly set ablaze his house yesterday night after bolting the room from outside. While the man was charred to death, his daughter-in-law and grandchildren escaped the mishap, though they were sleeping in the same house.

“A youth from Niali area was after my elder daughter. As our family was opposed to it, the youth had threatened to eliminate the entire family. I suspect his hand behind this,” Saleema, the daughter-in-law of the deceased said.

“At around 1 am, some unidentified miscreants set the house afire. My daughter (14) and son (10) fell unconscious due to the smoke billowing from the house. I could manage to take out my children from the house. But, couldn’t save my father-in-law,” she added.

The deceased has been identified as Mir Urfan Ali.

Meanwhile, Balipatna police rushed to the spot and began an investigation into the matter with the help of the scientific team.

The body charred beyond recognition was sent for post-mortem.