Alwar: Five members of a family were killed when the taxi they were travelling in caught fire on the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway in Alwar, Rajasthan, late on Wednesday night. The incident occurred when they were returning home to Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh after visiting the Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Thursday.
Officials at the scene said that when the rescue team arrived, the vehicle was already engulfed in flames and all five people were found dead inside the burning car. Personnel from the National Highways Authority of India, who were patrolling the stretch, spotted the fire and immediately alerted the fire brigade.
According to Alwar ASP Priyanka Raghuwanshi, the Laxmangarh police received information about the car fire at around 11:15 pm. The fire brigade reached the spot by about 11:30 pm and took roughly 15 minutes to bring the blaze under control. Authorities suspect that the fire spread very quickly because the taxi was fitted with a CNG kit, and a leak or malfunction may have triggered the sudden ignition.
Police identified four of the victims as Santosh Kumar, 35, his wife Shashi, 33, his mother‑in‑law Parvati, 50, and their 13‑year‑old daughter Ragni. The fifth victim, a woman, remained unidentified at the time of reporting. All five were residents of Chainpura village in Sheopur.
The taxi driver, Vinod Kumar Mehar, managed to jump out of the vehicle while it was still burning and sustained severe burn injuries. He was taken to Alwar District Hospital, where doctors referred him to a hospital in Jaipur for further treatment.
Family members of the deceased have left Sheopur for Alwar to claim the bodies and perform the last rites.
Police said the cause of the fire is being probed.
