Two burnt alive, 5 houses gutted in Jamalpur

A woman and her granddaughter were burnt alive and five houses gutted in a fire at Tilokpur Kawnerchar village in Dewanganj upazila of the district early yesterday.
The dead are Jarina Begum, 60, wife of Afsar Ali Sheikh, and their granddaughter Sabina Akhtar, a class four student of Alhaj Abdul Barik Government Primary School, at the village.
Locals said the fire originating from a kitchen of a house at the village at around 12:30am and soon spread to adjacent five houses including Afsar Ali's.
Afsar's wife Jarina and their granddaughter Sabina were trapped in room of their house during the fire incident. Later, their charred bodies were found in the room.
Afsar and four other members of the house-Jaru Sheikh, Suraj Sheikh, Bipul and Muslim-- sustained burn injuries. They are undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
Two cows and three goats belonging to Afsar were also burnt to death and the houses of his four neighbours were completely damaged by the fire, Tariqul Islam, Chairman of Dewanganj Sadar Union Parishad (UP).
Locals extinguished the blaze at around 3.00am, the chairman added. The affected house owners claimed that their properties worth over Tk four lakh were destroyed by the fire.