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A teen girl was killed as a fire broke out at an apartment in a police station compound in suburban Dadar on Sunday, 12th May officials said. The victim, Shravani Chavan (16), was sleeping inside a room in the apartment and was unable to come out to safety when the fire engulfed the premises, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation control room official said. A fire brigade official said the girl was alone at home and may have died due to suffocation.

 

The blaze erupted around 1.45 pm in one of the quarters on the third floor of the five-storey building located in the police station compound, an official at Dadar police station told newspersons. According to a Fire Brigade official, the door of Shravani’s room was locked from inside and an empty can of kerosene was found from the spot.

 

Her family members had gone out to attend a function, an official said. She received serious injuries in the incident and was rushed to the civic-run Sion Hospital where doctors declared her dead before admission, he said.

 

Her father is posted as a police naik at the Vakola police station in Mumbai, another official said. Several electrical wirings, installations and household items were also gutted in the fire, he said.

 

Four fire engines and three jumbo water tankers were rushed to the spot. The fire brigade personnel managed to douse the flames after hectic efforts for about three hours, he said.

 

A short-circuit in the air conditioner installed at the apartment was suspected to have caused the blaze, he said, adding that a probe was underway. A probe into the presence of the kerosene can in the flat was also on, he added.