The Tangra shanty after the fire killed two children. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

A teenaged girl and the six-year-old son of an autorickshaw driver died in a fire that broke out in his Tangra shanty on Monday, allegedly while fuel was being adulterated.

The flames engulfed Dipak Shankar Khatik’s 10ftx10ft shack, trapping his son Amit and 15-year-old Pinki Khatoon. Police said adulterated fuel of the type used by autorickshaws was being prepared in the shanty when the blaze started around 12.30pm. Three tenders put it out.

Pinki was visiting Dipak’s place with Noor Jahan Bibi, the 40-year-old wife of an auto driver named Laden, said an officer of Tangra police station. She sustained 65 per cent burns and is admitted to NRS Medical College and Hospital.

Dipak’s wife Laxmi, who was cooking lunch on a stove, managed to flee the hut with her two-year-old son Sagar. Both suffered minor burns. Dipak and Laxmi’s eldest, nine-year-old Nayana, was playing outside.

Laxmi told Metro that Amit was playing with “a bottle of petrol” and Sagar was sleeping on the bed while she was cooking. Noor Jahan and Pinki were “chatting” in the room.

“The bottle fell from Amit’s hand and broke. A spark from the stove set the liquid alight. Within seconds, there was an explosion and the whole room was on fire. I managed to pick up my youngest son and jump out of the room,” Laxmi recalled.

Residents of the area tried to put out the flames with buckets of water but failed.