Bhadrak: Six members of a family had a close shave after their house was set on fire over a property dispute while they were asleep Thursday. The house of a villager named Sudarshan Das was set on fire at Gabasahi under Bhadrak Town police limits in this district. Luckily, six members managed to move out of their home at the nick of the time.
According to a source, the house was allegedly set on fire with all members of the family locked in it. The five-room house and properties worth lakhs of rupees were gutted in the inferno.
“Sudarshan including his family were sleeping in the house and some unidentified miscreants set it afire in the wee hours of Thursday. Fortunately, he woke up and found that the house was locked from outside. However, the six family members managed to go out of the house and hence saved their lives,” an eyewitness expressed.
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“After striving for quite a long time they could manage to come out of the burning house through a back door,” the eyewitness stated.
“My husband woke up all of a sudden and noticed thick smoke inside our house at around 3.37am. As and when we tried to come out, we found that the door was locked from outside,” wife of the man said.
“With much difficulty, I had accumulated gold ornaments and other items worth lakhs of rupees for marriage of my daughter which have now reduced to ashes,” she said while bursting into tears.
On being informed and acting on an FIR lodged by Sudarshan with Town station, a team of police reached the spot and launched a probe into the incident which is underway, an official informed.
Meanwhile, Sudarshan has alleged that the inferno was fallout of a past enmity. Identity of the suspects has not been disclosed yet.
It is pertinent to mention here that the incident came close on the heels of the brutal murder of five members of a family over property dispute at Kusupur village under Mahanga block of Cuttack.
PNN