Jamshedpur man charred to death as gas cylinder explodes in car

Deceased was a cement trader whose car caught fire along Marine Drive

Jamshedpur, May 4: In a freak accident, a car driver was charred to death on Sunday when a cooking gas cylinder lying on the co-driver’s seat exploded, reducing the vehicle into a ball of fire in Jamshedpur’s marine drive, the police said.

Sunil Agarwal, a resident of Vijaya Heritage, died while sitting on the driver’s seat in the incident that took place around 5.30 a.m. at Marine Drive in Kadma police station area, an official said.

After the incident, a huge crowd of people gathered at the spot and informed the fire brigade and police.

Public attempts to rescue the victim failed due to the high intensity of the fire. “The fire could only be doused after the arrival of firefighters,” said the police.

The in-charge of the Kadma police station and DSP reached the spot. The body was burned so badly that it was impossible to identify it immediately. A damaged gas cylinder was also found on the front seat of the car.

The police used the car’s registration number to reach this house and identify him.

The person who died in the burning incident  has been identified as Sunil Agarwal, a cement businessman.

Sunil Agarwal is 55 years old, whose son is working in Mumbai while his daughter is in USA.

Sunil Agarwal was earlier the wholesaler of Ambuja Cement and now the C&F of JK Lakshmi Cement. He has an office in Dhatkidih. People who knew Sunil Agarwal said that he was not in the city for about a week. He was a very cheerful person. He came to Jamshedpur on Saturday. After this he went to Hotel Madhuban in Adityapur.

He returned after spending time with his friends in Hotel Madhuban. He left his house in the morning. After that, suddenly the news of the car catching fire was received, which has shocked everyone.

It is said that Sunil Agarwal used to smoke cigarettes. People around the spot say that there was a gas cylinder in the car and he was smoking a cigarette, which caused the fire and he died. However, his body was found completely burnt on the seat with the seat belt on.

The videos that have surfaced show the fire, but no struggle is visible in which the car driver is trying to get out.

This has raised question on public mind on the reason for the deceased businessman not open the door of the car after the fire broke out. Under what circumstances did the fire continue and he could not escape from the fire. Did the people around also not try to save him? There are many opinions about this.

The police as part of probe is searching all the CCTV footage of the surrounding area so that there is no scope for any doubt in this case. However, in the investigation done after this incident, it can be clearly seen that the gas cylinder is on the adjacent seat, which is completely torn.

Apart from this, some leftover cigarettes have also been found. It is assumed that that this accident has happened due to leakage of gas cylinder and then burning cigarette.

A police official said the initial probe suggests it was an accident, hinting that there may not be any foul play.