Journalist Moazzem dies from burn injuries

A man, who witnessed his only son burning to death in a fire at his home five months ago, met the same tragic death yesterday morning after suffering burn injuries from a fire that occurred in the same room of the same house early Friday. 

Moazzem Hossain Nannu, chief of the crime beat at Bangla Daily Jugantor, passed away from burn injuries around 8:20am yesterday, while undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr Samanta Lal Sen, national coordinator of the burn institute, told The Daily Star yesterday.

The fire broke out inside his house in the capital's Aftabnagar area around 3:30am.

Nannu, a former general secretary of Crime Reporters Association of Bangladesh (CRAB), was admitted to the hospital with 60 percent burn injuries.

Ershad Hossain, duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters, suspected that the blaze started as accumulated gas in the room came in contact with an electrical spark.

On January 2, Nannu's son Swapnil Ahmed Piash, 24, died after a fire broke out in the same room for the same reason.

A police team has launched an independent investigation to check how the fire broke out in same place and in the same way, Md Parvez Islam, officer-in-charge of Badda Police Station, told The Daily Star yesterday.

"We visited the scene on Friday and asked for a report from the Crime Scene Unit and fire service department to learn whether it was actually an accident, as the same tragedy was not supposed to occur twice. We would able to understand what happened once we get the reports," he said.

He added that they have not yet found a suspicious link to the incident.

Nannu's wife Shahana Hossain Pallabi said that Nannu returned from office work around 2:00am that night, had dinner and then took a shower.

"He went to our son's room around 3:00am and opened the door. As soon as he switched on the lights, there was a loud bang and a fire broke out," she said, adding that Nannu rushed to the bathroom and stood under the shower but he was severely burnt by then.

Pallabi further claimed that they used to get a smell of gas and a few days ago, Nannu said he would fix the problem. The tragedy occurred before he could.

Nannu's brother Ikbal Hossain Bablu, however, said he heard the fire broke out after Nannu tried to light a cigarette with his lighter in their veranda.

Meanwhile, the building's caretaker had a different version of the incident.

Mansur Alam, the caretaker of the building, told reporters that he woke up around 3:50am following three big bangs and the shouts of people in the neighbourhood.

"Nannu's apartment was facing a gas line problem but as far he knows the problem was solved before the family move into the apartment after major repair work on May 31," he said.

Nannu would be buried in Jashore, according to family members.

Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed expressed his condolences over the death, while CRAB also mourned the death of its former secretary.