UP: Couple, three minor daughters killed in Kanpur building blaze
Kanpur (PTI): A couple and their three minor daughters died in a blaze that broke out in a five-storey building in Chamanganj area here, police said on Monday.
Huge flames engulfed the entire building in the Prem Nagar area that houses shoe manufacturing units on its first and second floors, they said.
The bodies of Mohammad Danish 45, his wife Nazneen Saba, 42, were retrieved from the fourth floor at around 1:00 am, while those of their daughters -- Sara, 15, Simra, 12, and Inaya, 7, -- were found on the same floor at around 6:00 am, said Additional DCP (Central) Rajesh Srivastava.
It took firefighters several hours to gain access to the fourth floor, officials said, adding the victims were taken to the Ursula Horseman Memorial Hospital, where the doctors declared them brought dead.
According to police, the neighbours noticed huge flames and thick smoke emanating from the building on Sunday night and alerted the fire department and police.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Seesmau) Manjay Singh said an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire.
Preliminary probe suggests that the fire started in the basement and engulfed the first and second floors before being noticed by the neighbours, the ACP added.
"Initial suspicions point towards a possible short circuit or faults in the internal wiring, potentially originating from the floors where the shoe factory was operating," the ACP said.
"The fire led to blasts in a couple of domestic LPG cylinders that worsened the situation," he added.
State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were also called to help the firefighters in the relief operations to extinguish the blaze completely, said ACP (Colonelganj) TB Singh.
"People from over half a dozen neighbouring buildings were evacuated to ensure their safety,” he added.
The officials have been instructed to investigate the building's legality and fire safety status and take action accordingly, a senior official said.
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Sameer Ahmed elected President of SKMWA Muscat for 2026–2027
Muscat: Sameer Ahmed, a native of Udupi and currently employed in a private company in Muscat, has been elected President of the South Kanara Muslim Welfare Association (SKMWA), Muscat, for the 2026–2027 term.
The election was conducted during the association’s Annual General Body Meeting held at Al Reef Hotel, Muscat, in the presence of chief guests Adil Shaikh, Monabba, Shareef, and Sahebzada Mehmood.
The newly elected office bearers include Vice Presidents Mohd Arif (Udupi) and Niyaz Mohammed (Mangalore), General Secretary Jaseem Basha (Kundapura), Joint Secretaries Rizwan Ali (Udupi) and Zaheer Hussain (Moodbidri), Treasurer Tajuddin Sheikh (Tonse), Assistant Treasurer Irfan Ahmed (Udyavara), Finance Secretary Mohammed Asif Gafur (Karkala), Assistant Finance Secretary Mohammed Akif Gafoor (Karkala), and Auditor Ashraf Ali (Kaup).
The Core Committee includes Event Coordinators Ansar Katipalla and Adil Moodbidri, and Sports Coordinators Ashpak Basrur and Muneer Ahmed (Sastan).
The programme commenced with a recitation from the Holy Quran by Zaid Asif. The Annual Activity Report for 2025 was presented by Sameer Ahmed, while the financial report was delivered by Mohammed Asif Gafoor and verified by Auditor Ashraf Ali.
Former president Azim was felicitated by Syed Mohiddin Saheb during the event.
The meeting concluded with an address by the newly elected president, followed by a vote of thanks proposed by General Secretary Jaseem Basha. The programme was coordinated by Syed Mohiddin Saheb (Sastan) and Ansar Katipalla.
