Held blankets, asked family to jump off 1st-floor balcony, says neighbour

Ghaziabad: A family plan to spend Eid al-Adha together next week was cut short by a massive fire that broke out in their Behta Hajipur colony house on Wednesday night. Five members of the family, including two minors, died in the blaze while two others were severely injured.
Sharik, husband of Parveen who died in the blaze, told TOI that around 8pm, he left the house to get milk for his seven-month-old son while others were busy in the kitchen or watching television.
“It was 8.25pm when I returned and found my house was on fire. My father Isheyaq (70) and my younger brother Shakib were also away at the time. I could hear my family screaming for help. I snatched a bucket from a person and started throwing water, but the fire spread too rapidly. My wife and sister were screaming from the balcony, and I stood there helplessly. I had kissed my baby boy before stepping out of the house and now I am holding his charred body in my arms,” he said.
Sharik said he wanted to make this Eid al-Adha, which falls on June 17, special for the family. “I was also planning to gift my wife a gold ring on her birthday on June 22. Now, I have nothing left,” he said.
Parveen (28), her seven-month-old son Mohammad Faiz, her brother-in-law Shaiful Rehman (35), his wife Nazra (26), their daughter Ikra Rahman (7) were found dead near the stairwell on the second floor of the house by the firemen.
Usma (26) and Arsh (4) were rescued from the ground floor and were taken to Delhi’s GTB Hospital.
Yusuf, a neighbour and an eyewitness, said several people from the locality had rushed out to save the family as the fire broke out around 8pm.
“We had spread a blanket and asked the family members trapped inside the house to jump from the balcony of the first floor, but they refused. After that, some people also asked them to throw the children, but they didn’t. Then someone in the crowd suggested they run towards the terrace as the fire reached the rooms on the first floor. We could not hear them after some time,” he said.