Twin toddlers die in Kacheguda house fire, short-circuit suspected

Hyderabad: Two-year-old twin brothers were killed in a fire that broke out at their home in Sunder Nagar, Kacheguda, on Friday evening, with police suspecting a short-circuit in an air-conditioner or electrical wiring as the cause.According to police, the twins — Raheem and Rehman — were sleeping in a room on the ground floor of their house when the fire erupted around 4 pm.Kacheguda police said they received a distress call from the children's father, Saifuddin Qadri, who works at a local mosque and was away at the time. The twins' mother was reportedly outside the house and rushed in after being alerted by her elder children."One of the children died on the spot, while the other was shifted to Osmania General Hospital, where he succumbed," a senior officer from Kacheguda police station said, adding that the exact cause of the fire was yet to be confirmed.The Qadris have two other children, both around five years old. Family members and local residents told police the fire may have originated from the air-conditioner. However, officers said this would be established only after a forensic analysis. A team from the Hyderabad police's Clues unit visited the scene, collected samples and sent them to the Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory (TGFSL)."Once the FSL report is received, we will be able to determine the precise cause of the fire," the officer said.A fire tender from the Gowliguda fire station was rushed to the spot after the emergency call, but by the time it arrived, residents had already doused the flames. An investigation is underway.