8-year-old recalls burning car, says everyone was crying for help:Fire broke out while returning from Balaghat, 3 killed

When there was smoke, everyone started coughing. When everyone shouted, a tempo appeared. It stopped, then broke the glass and pulled me out. Beyond this, eight-year-old Purvi Rahangdale is unable to explain much. When asked about her injuries, she says, “There is a black mark on my leg.” Purvi is the same child who was rescued from the burning car in Balaghat on Saturday night (March 28). In the road accident on the Baihar–Malajkhand road, three members of a family (father-in-law, daughter-in-law and grandson) were burnt alive inside the car. Sitam and his mother Nanabai, who were injured in the fire, are undergoing treatment in Gondia. Car driver Sitam Kelkar was travelling late at night from Pondi to Pauni with his family. Near Keolari square, the car went out of control and fell into a ditch. Within moments, the vehicle turned into a ball of fire. Those killed in the accident—father Nagarachi, daughter-in-law Savita and three-year-old Abhi Kelkar—were cremated on Sunday. On Tuesday, the Dainik Bhaskar team first travelled from Balaghat to Pauni and then to Pondi for a ground report. In Pauni lives eight-year-old Purvi, who was rescued from the burning car. Before proceeding with the news, see 2 pictures of the accident Seetam Kelkar lived near Poorvi’s house Car driver Sitam Kelkar was originally from Pondi village in Balaghat. In 2019, he shifted to Pauni for work and lived there with his family in a rented house near Purvi’s home. Purvi’s mother had relatives in Sitam’s native village. When Sitam came from Pauni to Pondi with his family, he also brought Purvi along. She was found sitting in the verandah with her mother. Though only eight years old, she clearly remembers every moment of that Saturday night. Tempo driver broke the glass and rescued her Recalling the night of the accident, Purvi says, “I was sitting on the back seat with grandfather and grandmother. Sitam uncle was driving. Savita aunty was sitting in front with Abhi. After some time, I fell asleep.” “I woke up when everyone started coughing. People shouted, then a tempo stopped. The driver broke the glass and pulled me out.” She adds that there were five family members in the car along with her. “I don’t know the person who rescued me.” Showing her leg, she says, “There is just this black mark.” The team then reached the family’s native village Pondi. Three funerals were performed simultaneously A canopy is set up outside the house. Women and children sit quietly on chairs under it. No one is talking. Outside the house, Nagarachi’s younger son Pritam Lal Kelkar is seen. He says: I never thought I would have to perform the last rites for three people at once. When I buried my nephew, the soil wouldn’t leave my hands. The villagers held my hand and helped me light the pyres of my father and sister-in-law. I held Abhi in my lap for the last time Pritam says, “When my brother, father and sister-in-law were leaving, Abhi was in my lap. I handed him back to his mother saying goodbye. Within two hours, everything was over. The bodies were unrecognisable.” Sitam got married in 2017. After two years, he started working in Pauni and settled there. The couple did not have children for four to five years, after which family members suggested praying to the goddess. After making a vow, Abhi was born three years ago. “He was very beautiful, fair like milk,” Pritam recalls. Everyone ate together for the last time Pritam says that after Abhi’s birth, his brother and sister-in-law used to come from Pauni to Pondi every Navratri for Ashtami पूजा. This time, they arrived on Friday, a day before the ritual. On Saturday night, after the पूजा, everyone had dinner together. Around 10–10:30 pm, they left for Pauni by car. After some time, Pritam also went to sleep. Around midnight, he received a call from the police informing him about the accident, but they did not mention that the car had caught fire. Father and sister-in-law were engulfed in flames Pritam says, “When I reached the accident spot with relatives and villagers, I was shocked. I couldn’t understand anything. My brother Sitam was badly burnt. My mother Nanabai’s condition was slightly better. Our neighbour’s daughter Purvi was also there. My father and brother were trapped in flames inside the car. I felt dizzy.” “Soon an ambulance arrived. I took them to Janki Hospital in Gondia with the villagers. After leaving some relatives there, I returned to Pondi and performed the last rites of my father, sister-in-law and nephew Abhi. My brother Sitam is still in a critical condition. It has been three days, and he has not regained consciousness.”