Nagpur: Two friends were found dead inside a room of Anand Public School in Chandan Nagar on Sunday under mysterious circumstances. The victims died of asphyxiation after a short-circuit triggered a fire inside the room, said the police.
The deceased have been identified as Aman Manoj Tiwari (18) and Akash Anil Rajak (23), both hailing from Seoni, Madhya Pradesh and were friends. The duo was found frothing and bleeding from the mouth and nose.
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Thursday 27 Feb. 2025
According to police, the school was closed during COVID-19 pandemic, and was rented out to Suraj Kadu and Ukeksha Landge for dance training. A room on the first floor of the school was rented to Landge, where she kept some material. Aman used to live here with other workers. On Saturday night, Akash had come to visit him. The room where the incident took place had a refrigerator, sofa, bed, and other materials. Both of them ate and slept in the room at night on Saturday.
In the middle of the night, the refrigerator caught fire due to a short-circuit. The sofa next to it was also burnt to ashes. Police suspect that Aman and Akash were fast asleep, and so they died of suffocation in their sleep. The incident came to light when two labourers came to the school to call Aman around 10 am on Sunday.
They found the door of the room closed and called him out, but there was no response. The security guard, Manoj Kumar Shahu, also tried to call Aman, but there was no response. They both left the school and returned around 2 pm, but still did not get any response from Aman. They grew suspicious and broke open the door, only to find both the young men dead in the room.
They raised an alarm, and the Imambada police were informed. A police team, including Assistant Commissioner of Police Pundlik Bhatkar, and Senior PI of Imamwada Police Station Rajkamal Waghmare, reached the scene of the incident.
The bodies of Aman and Akash were sent to Government Medical College Hospital after the panchnama. The police have registered a case of accidental death and started an investigation
According to Chief Fire Officer B P Chandankhede, he was not informed about the incident. “There was no call to the control room or from any personnel from Imambada police station,” said Chandankhede. It’s learnt that even officials from the electricity department were not present at the spot.
Imambada Police Station’s senior inspector Rajkamal Waghmare said the fire had doused by the time they reached the place. “The victims are likely to have died due to inhaling carbon,” he said, adding, “Their noses had deposits of carbon.”
It’s learnt that Aman Tiwari, who worked for a banner and poster contractor, used to stay at the room which also had a refrigerator, a sofa and work-related material. Sources said the switch board of the room had turned black while the sofa below was gutted.
Police said Tiwari and Akash Rajak could have choked as they could not reach the door for help. “They may have scrambled to reach for the door but could not make it. The window was also blocked and the room had no ventilator. The smoke which emanated from the fire could not exit the room and may have choked the victims,” said a cop.
It’s learnt that Rajak, who worked as a cook at a roadside Chinese food cart, had come to meet Tiwari. There were two more friends. One of the friends had forgotten his wallet and charger and wanted to return but Tiwari and Rajak had gone out for dinner. On Sunday morning, friends wanted to visit Tiwari but he was not responding to their calls.
The doors were forced open after Tiwari’s friends spotted him lying on the floor along with Rajak after peeping through the window.
