Minor siblings suffocate to death in Bandipora

SRINAGAR, Feb 21: Two brothers died in a Madrasa allegedly due to asphyxia caused by a coal fire lit in their room to beat the cold while they slept in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
The incident occurred at Madrasa Faiz-Ul-Aloom in the Astengo area of Bandipora district on Tuesday night.
The victims were identified as Muneer Ahmad Chechi (10) and Tanveer Ahmed Chechi (9), a teacher at the school, Tanveer Ahmed said.
However, the police have yet to confirm the incident.
The father of the siblings, Qasim Ahmad Chechi, who is working as a cook in the madrasa, was found in an unconscious condition and taken to Bandipora hospital, from where he has been shifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura Srinagar for further treatment, he said.
“I reached the school in the morning around 8.45 am, and as I was ready to enter the room, a few students came running and said the cook of the madrassa and his two children had died. The two children were found dead while their father was in an unconscious condition and was taken to the Bandipora hospital for treatment,” he said. The teacher said, “The cause of death is most likely due to a charcoal bukhari (heater) kept in their room for keeping warm, and there was little ventilation; that too was covered with a polythene sheet.” He said police were informed, and a team of forensic experts and police reached the spot and took the bodies for medical and legal formalities. (UNI)