All adults in the family were away to the fields harvesting wheat when the incident took place. The deceased were cousins. Their parents work as farm labourers in the village.According to the villagers, the children were playing in one of the thatched roof huts in the absence of their parents and elders. A fire broke out on the roof. The frightened children pulled a quilt over themselves and huddled together on the floor to save themselves. Before help could reach, the burning thatched roof fell on them charring them to death instantaneously.
Eyewitnesses said they ran towards the hut when they noticed smoke. But by the time they reached there, the hut was gutted. The fire brigade and the police were called.
No one thought anything was amiss, till a bystander pointed to a charred hand of a child jutting out from a heap of charred cotton. All children were found charred beyond recognition clutching each other under the burnt quilt.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Officials said while only a proper investigation could reveal the facts; it appeared that the children set a fire accidentally. They said a lot of dry deadwood and other inflammable material was stored in the hut which helped the fire spread rapidly.
The deceased were later identified as Tannu (2) and Muskaan (3), daughters of Pawan; Vinay (6), Vikas (3) and Annu (4), children of Pawan’s brother Mukesh; Ajay (4), son of Pawan’s cousin Manjit; and Annu (2), daughter of another cousin Rohtash. The affected families have been rendered childless by the tragedy.
Congress MP from Rohtak Deepender Hooda rushed to the village from Delhi and attended the cremation. He announced an ex gratia Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of each of the deceased.
