Chandigarh, January 10
A woman was suffocated to death with smoke emanating from an “angithi” kept in the bedroom at Sector 52 last night. The victim’s husband, who was also sleeping in the same room, was admitted to the hospital in an unconscious state.
The deceased, Mala Devi (55), and her husband, Bhagwan Dutt Tiwari, had kept the burning “angithi” nearby and closed the door of the bedroom. Their son, Aswhani, said his father had called him up and asked him to return home early as his mother was unwell. Ashwani reached home 10 minutes later and found that the main gate was locked from inside. After sometime, his tenant, who stays on the first floor, opened the gate. Sources said Ashwani entered the house and found the door of the bedroom closed. The room was full of smoke and the couple was lying unconscious. He raised the alarm after which neighbours gathered there. Ashwani claimed he kept trying for an ambulance but couldn’t find any. “I had to rush my parents to the hospital in a private vehicle,” he said.
