:
Four members of a family were charred to death when fire broke out in their house at Mariyammanahalli in Hosapete taluk of Vijayanagara district in Karnataka on April 7 midnight.
The deceased have been identified as Venkat Prashant, 42, his wife Chandrakala, 38, son Advirk, 16, and daughter Prerna, 8.
According to Superintendent of Police K. Arun the initial findings suggest that the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the air-conditioner when the family was sleeping on the first floor of the building.
Raghvendra Shetty and his wife Rajeshwari, who stay in the ground floor, came out of the house immediately after the fire broke out, while the family of Venkat Prashant apparently fell unconscious due to the fumes caused by the fire.
The flames were doused. The bodies were taken out and sent for post-mortem. Further investigation is on.
