By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Lighting a cigarette while cleaning an electric chimney using petrol cost a 26-year-old electrician his life, after fire engulfed him at his home in Siddapura, on Thursday.

The deceased, identified as Shivakumar, was a resident of Byrasandra. He worked as an electrician. On Thursday, around 6 pm, he started cleaning the chimney. Around 6.30 pm, when he lit a cigarette, some petrol fell on him, dousing his shirt and trousers. Within a fraction of a second, he was engulfed in flames. On hearing his screams, his mother Vijayamma rushed in, only to see her son ablaze.

Speaking to TNIE, Vijayamma said, “I had told him not to smoke in the kitchen, but he ignored me,” she said.