Darjeeling : The family of the newlywed woman who suffered severe burn injuries when a barbecue fire engulfed her at a homestay in Sittong, Kurseong district on Sept 13 has alleged the homestay delayed medical assistance. The homestay manager has denied the charge. Police have termed it an accident and initiated an investigation.
Nikita Das, a resident of Chopra in North Dinajpur, was on her honeymoon with husband Sameer Das — two months after their marriage — when the incident occurred around 8.25pm.
Homestay manager Deepen Tamang said a small quantity of thinner was used to ignite the barbecue fire. “Kerosene is difficult to get here, so we used a small amount of the chemical to ignite the fire,” he said. An investigation has been initiated to establish the exact sequence of events,” a Kurseong police station officer said.
CCTV footage shows Sameer trying to douse the flames on his wife’s body. The homestay, which opened in June, is still under construction. The family alleged Nikita remained on the homestay’s balcony in an injured and shocked condition for nearly an hour without medical assistance. A complaint has been lodged with police over the alleged delay. Nikita remains in critical condition in Siliguri. “It was an accident.
He said CCTV footage showed the initial response took around 20 minutes, after which the journey to Siliguri took about one-and-a-half hours.
If we had taken her to Kurseong, she would have been referred to Siliguri anyway,” he said. Tamang denied the allegation. “We wanted to send the victim to Siliguri as soon as possible.