A madarsa clerk, his wife, and two children in the Jhajjar locality of Biswan town in Sitapur died on Saturday night while they were sleeping in a room in which a petromax with a five-liter gas cylinder was burning. The deceased Asif was a resident of Chinhat Rasoolpur Sadat in Lucknow. The incident came to light when the milkman came to know about it in the morning. The milkman knocked on the door several times but nobody opened the door. When the door of the house did not open for a long time, the locals informed the police.
Neighbour Irfan informed the police after nobody answered the door. Police personnel, who reached the spot, accessed the roof of Asif’s house from the roof of Irfan’s house. Police entered the house by cutting an iron grill on the roof. When the police arrived and saw the scene, everyone was shocked.
In the room, the husband and wife were lying on the sides of the bed and in the middle, both children were lying motionless. All of them were dead by then. Petromax was no longer burning but there was a strong smell of gas.
There was no movement when the police personnel shook the hands of the four lying on the bed. A crowd of hundreds of people had gathered outside the house of the deceased after getting the information about the incident.
Deputy District Magistrate P L Maurya and CO Abhishek Pratap Ajeya reached the spot and conducted a preliminary inquiry into the situation and sent the four bodies for post-mortem in an ambulance. It is being told that Madarsa clerk Asif had started living with his wife and two children in Biswan for the last two and a half to three years.
Biswan SDM P L Maurya said, “Neighbours said that Asif was a clerk at Madarsa Islamia in Sadarpur. He slept with his wife Shagufta, son Zayed and daughter Myra on Saturday night. Son Zayed was just two years old, while daughter Myra was three years old. Asif’s family members have been informed.” Regarding financial assistance, he said, “I will consult higher officials.”
Abdullah Ghazali, a madarsa teacher, said, “Asif had been working as a clerk in the madarsa for the past 12 years. Asif has three brothers and two sisters and his elderly mother. They live in Rasoolpur Sadat village in Lucknow. Asif’s in-laws are in Godian Tola near the Manni intersection in Sitapur nagar. Asif’s wife Shagufta was the second child of her father Qamar Ali. Shagufta’s elder sister also died earlier. She also has a younger sister and two brothers. Shagufta’s father passed away, while her mother is alive.”
