india

Updated: Jun 27, 2019 23:07 IST

A 36-year-old man, his wife and mother were asphyxiated in the wee hours of Thursday as the smoke from their fridge, which had caught fire, spread through the house.

A police officer identified the dead as V Prasanna, a journalist working as a senior correspondent at News J TV owned by the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), his 30-year-old wife Archana (30) and her 59-year-old mother-in-law Revathi.

The three were residents of an apartment at Selaiyur on the outskirts of Chennai city.

A police officer said investigations are on to ascertain if the fire started from the refrigerator or the pooja room.

Preliminary reports indicate the fridge caught fire which may have started in the pooja room.

“We found half burnt materials like cloth screens in the pooja room. So most likely the fire started in the pooja room and could have spread to the fridge. We are also looking into whether voltage fluctuations led to a fire in the compressor of the fridge leading it to burst and start a fire,” said Selaiyur police sources.

According to the relatives of the victims, Archana was working as a teacher in a private school.

The tragedy came to light only by 8 am when Prasanna’s neighbours noticed the smoke in the apartment. They immediately informed the Tambaram fire station. When the firefighters entered the house, they found the bodies of Prasanna and his mother lying on the living room. Archana was found dead in the bedroom.

It seems the air-conditioner was kept on during the incident which might be the prime reason for the asphyxiation as smoke is believed to have circulated inside. Selaiyur police have registered a case regarding the incident. The bodies have been sent to Chrompet Government Hospital for autopsy.