Fire in auto; Anganwadi teacher sustains burns

An Anganwadi teacher sustained burns when a fire broke out in a parked auto-rickshaw in which she and her friend were sitting at Srinivasa Nagar near Akkayyapalem in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

According to reports, the Anganwadi teacher and her friend boarded the stationary auto and were talking in the vehicle when the fire broke out suddenly. While the teacher sustained burns, her friend left the place. Locals, who noticed it, shifted the anganwadi teacher to a nearby hospital.

People suspected that it was a petrol attack. However, the injured teacher denied it and clarified it occurred accidentally.

She told the police, who recorded her statement, that her saree caught fire when she lit a matchstick in the vehicle resulting in the breakout of fire. It was not known why she lit the matchstick and why her friend left the place immediately after the incident.

The visuals of the Anganwadi teacher and her friend entering the autorickshaw were recorded in the CCTV footage.

The police, who registered a case, are enquiring about the friend of the teacher. They are also focusing on whether there were any petrol bottles in the vehicle or whether there was any other reason for the breakout of the fire.

Recently, three women women, travelling by bus, sustained burns when an unknown person threw acid on them at Kancharapalem in the city. The accused is yet to be traced.