Daughter-in-law, three grand children die in mysterious fire at ex-Congress MP's house in Telangana

Hyderabad: At least four family members of former Congress MP S Rajaiah died in a fire incident at their house in Warangal district of Telangana in the wee hours of Wednesday.

"Four persons including Rajaiah's daughter-in-law (S Sarika) and his three grandchildren, all boys, died in the fire incident," a senior police officer was quoted as saying by PTI.

All of them succumbed to burn injuries on the spot, he added.

Asked on the cause of the fire and reports of cooking gas explosion leading to the mishap, the police officer said, "Most probably the fire was due to gas explosion...It is too early to come to a conclusion...It will take some more time...There is no clarity."

The fire occurred on the second floor of Rajaiah's house in Hanamkonda area of Warangal city where the members were staying.

Warangal City Police Commissioner G Sudheer Babu and other police officers are at the spot for assessement of the situation. The fire has been brought under control.

Rajaiah, a former Member of Parliament from Warangal constituency is contesting the Warangal Lok Sabha bypoll scheduled on November 21.

Incidentally, a criminal case was filed against Rajaiah, his wife, son and another woman, at the Begumpet women's police station here in April 2014, following a complaint lodged by Sarika, Rajaiah's daughter-in-law, who had alleged that her husband and in-laws had been harassing her.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has also reportedly withdrawn him as its candidate following the incident.