Stove ember sparks hut fire, 4-month-old burns alive:Father injured trying to save infant and toddler; officials visit site, provide assistance

A fire that started from a stove ember destroyed a hut in Chitharyau Tola of Bansa Tarkheda village, Damoh, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday evening, killing a four-month-old baby. The deceased child has been identified as Nishant Gaud. His post-mortem was conducted at the district hospital on Sunday. According to police, Jitendra Gaud had taken a contract for irrigation in Shailendra Tiwari’s field in Patharyau Tola and lived in a hut there. His family often stayed at the hut to supervise the work. On Saturday night, Jitendra and his wife Dhana Bai were watering the field, while Nishant and his two-year-old son Dabbu (Guddu) were sleeping inside the hut. An ember from the stove fell onto clothes in the hut, starting a fire. The hut, made of raw materials with dry grass nearby, caught fire quickly. The baby began crying, and villagers rushed to the scene, but the fire had already engulfed the hut. Police are investigating the incident. Father also injured while trying to save children After receiving news of the fire, father Jitendra Gaud rushed to the hut and tried to save his children, sustaining serious burns in the process. With the help of villagers, the family was taken to the district hospital, where doctors declared four-month-old Nishant dead. Collector and SP visit the site On the instructions of Collector Sudhir Kochar and Superintendent of Police, SDM and ASP reached the site with a police team to assess the situation. The administration provided immediate financial assistance to the affected family. On Sunday morning, Tehsildar Raghunandan Chaturvedi and Sagar Naka police post in-charge Rohit Dwivedi conducted the panchnama and post-mortem of Nishant at the district hospital and handed over the body to the family.