Nagaon, Nov. 26: A tragedy befell the family of a farmer at Ganesh Tapu, a char situated around 16km from Juria police station in Nagaon district, this afternoon when the parents locked their four children at home and set off to plough their field.

Like every other day, the children of Mohd Hajibuddin — Risuwana, 5 and her three-year-old brother Sariful, along with neighbours Janathan, 4 and Tajimul, 4 were playing inside the house when it went up in flames. The parents felt it was safer to keep them indoors in case they stepped into danger on venturing out to the bank of the Brahmaputra.

“The hut caught fire suddenly and the children were trapped inside,” said a source.

A team of Juria police, led by sub-inspector Bhupen Kalita, rushed to the site immediately.

“All the four children were found dead. The parents may have cooked a meal inside the house and that could have started the fire,” Kalita told The Telegraph. Details are awaited as investigations are on.

Farmers with land on Ganesh Tapu live in temporary huts for the winter and grow vegetables there.