Attibele fire tragedy: Death toll rises to 17

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The death toll in the Attibele fire tragedy rose to 17 on Wednesday as another victim succumbed to burn injuries at the hospital in the city.

The latest victim was Rajesh, a 19-year-old labourer from Tamil Nadu. He passed away on Wednesday morning at the Saint John's Hospital in Bengaluru.

He was one of the three persons to be admitted in the hospital. Two of them had died earlier. Meanwhile, the state government has handed over the investigation of the case for a magisterial inquiry.

Amalan Aditya Biswas, the Regional Commissioner of Bengaluru division appointed as the investigating officer, has been asked to submit the probe report in three months.

The Karnataka Police have already submitted its report on the tragedy to the state government. At least 14 people died on the spot after a fire broke out at the Balaji Traders firecracker shopcum-godown on October 7.

A case regarding the incident was registered under IPC Sections 285, 286, 337, 427 and 304 with the Attibele police station.