He frequently had disputes with his wife and daughter-in-law over his repeated requests for tea. So Mangal Mallick (80) used to prepare and drink tea on a stove near his room on the second floor of the mud house. On Tuesday night, the stove he cherished for making tea consumed the entire house. Mangal also did not survive. When villagers rescued him in a severely burnt condition and took him to the hospital, doctors declared him dead. A fire engine arrived and brought the fire under control. However, by then the entire house had reduced to ashes. Other members of the family have taken shelter at a relative's house. The incident occurred in Talgram, Beliabera, Jhargram.
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According to police and local sources, Mangal was a member of a kirtan group. Neighbours reported that there were frequent disputes at home over his tea addiction. Only three people lived in the two-story mud house: Mangal, his wife, and his daughter-in-law. His son and two grandsons live in Mizoram for work. He was addicted to tea anyway, and it was winter. He had set up a small mud stove right in front of his room on the second floor of the mud house and kept all his tea-making equipment there. Whenever he felt like it, he would make and drink tea there himself. Mangal had also made and drunk tea on Tuesday night. But it is believed he forgot to extinguish the stove. The elderly man's wife, Sandhya Mallick and daughter-in-law, Sabita Mallick lived in the downstairs room.
Sabita said, "We had fallen asleep quickly. Suddenly, we woke up smelling smoke. I ran out of the house with my mother-in-law. I got the goats tied in the house's shed outside. The heat from the fire was so intense that I couldn't bring my father-in-law outside." A neighbor reported that the house was burning fiercely before their eyes. Village resident Anupam Mallick said, "We tried to put out the fire by running a submersible pump. But the fire was so intense that it couldn't be brought under control at all. When the police station and fire department were informed, they came and brought the fire under control."
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Beliabera police station OC Neelu Mondol said, "The fire was brought under control after several hours of effort." The elderly man's son, Jhantu Mallick and his two grandsons arrived in Kolkata by plane from Mizoram on Wednesday after receiving the news. They reached home that afternoon. Jhantu said, "Father had fallen asleep after making and drinking tea on Tuesday night. The entire house burnt down because he forgot to extinguish the fire. Father also died. I have only one request to the administration – if they help build the house, we would really benefit from it." The elderly man's wife said, "Now I think it would have been fine if I had just made tea for him."
Gopibollabhpur-2 BDO Rahul Biswas, Panchayat Samiti President Sharbari Adhikari, and Panchayat Samiti Public Works Executive Tinku Pal visited the scene on Wednesday. Dry food, cooking utensils, blankets, and clothes were handed over to Mangal's wife and daughter-in-law by the block administration. The BDO said arrangements would be made to ensure the family gets a house. He also asked them to file a complaint at the police station regarding the entire incident.
