Death of two Dalit children: Report says fire was started from inside

Faridabad//New Delhi: A forensic report has said that the fire that killed two Dalit children in Haryana's Sunped village was started from inside the house.

The "origin and source of fire was from inside the room and not from outside", the Indian Express reported, quoting forensic experts. Earlier, it was reported that on October 20, alleged upper caste men set the house of Jitender on fire after pouring petrol from the window.

Jitendra's two-and-a-half-years-old son Vaibhav and 11-month-old daughter Divya perished in the fire while his wife Rekha, 28, is still fighting for her life at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital.

The findings by the team comprising the Director, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and Assistant Directors of the Physics and Chemistry divisions of the FSL, Karnal, directly contradicts the statement of Jitender who claimed that the fire was started by upper caste men. The team is expected to submit their report to the CBI by the weekend, Express reported.

The Express report said there were "no traces of outside entry", the "pattern of pouring of inflammable substance was vertical" and the "splatter’s pattern on the scene of crime was circular", suggesting that the fuel was not thrown from a distance, but poured from inside the house.

Meanwhile, the CBI registered a case of murder against 11 persons in connection with the killing of the two infants on October 20.

CBI sources said as per the laid down procedure, the agency has taken over the investigation in the FIR registered by the local police which had named 11 persons in the case.

A team of agency officials reached the crime scene Thursday and collected forensic evidence.

The team headed by a DIG level officer is in the process of understanding the circumstances of the incident.