Fire guts south Kolkata house

KOLKATA: A fire allegedly sparked by a short-circuit in a washing machine gutted a Hindustan Park house on Friday afternoon. Explosion of some gas cylinders that were kept beside the washing machine further aggravated the fire.Four persons have suffered burn injuries and are undergoing treatment at various city hospitals. Actor Ranjit Das, who spotted the flames while shooting for a Bengali serial opposite the building, rushed to rescue those who were inside the house. Ranjit suffered severe burn injuries and is undergoing treatment at SSKM Hospital along with Nitai Das (81) and Jagadish Das (35). Nitai’s kin Swarup Das (44) was shifted to Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan. “The condition of our family members injured in the fire is better now. But, we want them to stay under observation since we do not have the necessary facilities back home,” said Nitai’s nephew Sanjay Das.