New Delhi: A 60-year-old differently-abled, retired sanitation worker of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi died after being trapped inside his home during a fire in central Delhi’s Paharganj on Monday afternoon. His two sons suffered burn injuries while trying to rescue him but could not reach him in time.According to police, Ramesh Kumar was alone on the third floor of his house in Chuna Mandi when the fire broke out around 2.40 pm. A PCR call was received at Paharganj police station, following which a team rushed to the spot. Delhi Fire Service deployed four fire tenders and 10 firefighters. By the time they arrived, flames had engulfed part of the floor. The blaze was brought under control by around 3.10 pm.Ramesh, who was partially paralysed and suffered from frequent health issues, was trapped inside a room locked from within. He could not be rescued in time and was later pulled out and taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.“Preliminary investigation points to a possible short circuit, though the exact cause is yet to be confirmed,” a senior police officer said.Ramesh lived with his wife Sheela (58), a homemaker, and their two sons — Rohit (35), a mehendi artist, and Naresh (40), who works with a private firm. The family occupied the third and fourth floors of the four-storey building.Family members and neighbours tried to rescue Ramesh. Rohit told TOI that he was at work when he received a call about the fire. “I rushed home and managed to help rescue my mother and brother. Naresh and I injured our hands trying to break open the door, but it would not give way,” he said, adding that his father suffered from seizures and was undergoing treatment.Rohit said his mother had served lunch to his father shortly before stepping out. “She told me she had given him lunch and that he locked the room from inside. That is how he got trapped. She narrowly escaped,” he said.Naresh suffered minor burn injuries during the rescue attempt, police said. Neighbours also tried to alert Ramesh and force open the door after noticing thick smoke, but had to retreat as the fire intensified. A crime team and forensic experts inspected the site. Further investigation is underway.Fire call data shows an overall rise in 2026 compared to 2025. In Jan, calls increased to 2,785 from 2,185 last year, while Feb recorded 2,471 calls against 2,083. March, however, saw a marginal dip, with 2,838 calls compared to 2,952 last year. Despite this, the first quarter remained about 12% higher, rising from 7,220 in 2025 to 8,094 in 2026.April has also seen a slight decline so far, with 3,496 calls recorded till April 27 this year compared to 3,737 in the same period last year. Even with this dip, the cumulative number of fire calls in 2026 remains around 6% higher than last year.
