CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ hyderabad l Monday l may 19, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION All three pillars of democracy equal, says Chief Justice of India BRS Gavai at felicitation programme by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa on Sunday Fire in jeweller’s home at Charminar kills 17 Eight children visiting grandparents for summer holidays among victims; only 4 of 21 persons in the house survive Narrow width of entranceway to home above century-old shop delays firefighters while locals attempt to save lives Deceased C h i t h a lu r i R eva n t h Prahlad Modi, 75, owner of Sri Krishna Pearls @ Hyderabad Top: Picture shared by Fire department shows firefighters in action at Gulzar Houz near Charminar in Hyderabad Above: Police personnel at the narrow entranceway to the ill-fated home of Prahlad Modi that caught fire on Sunday, leaving 17 members of his family dead | Sri Loganathan Velmurugan A fire that broke out early Sunday morning at a house near Gulzar Houz, less than 100 metres from the Charminar, left 17 people dead — among them eight children, some of whom were visiting their grandparents for the summer holidays. The fire occurred in the residence of Sri Krishna Pearls owner, Prahlad Modi, in a G+2 structure that housed the jewellery store on the ground floor and family living quarters above. Of the 21 people reportedly present in the house at the time, only four survived. Many of the deceased belonged to the same extended family, spanning three generations. According to fire department officials, six of the victims died due to suffocation while the remaining 11 suffered fatal burn injuries. Preliminary reports suggest a short circuit at a power meter in the ground-floor pearls shop may have triggered the fire, which rapidly engulfed the structure. Among the dead were 75year-old Prahlad Modi, his wife Munni, their children and grandchildren. Most victims were found unconscious when fire personnel reached them. They had reportedly retreated into rooms in a desperate attempt to escape the heat and smoke. Eyewitnesses described seeing smoke billowing from the building around 5.50 am. Some bystanders returning from Munni Modi, 70 Rajendar Modi, 65 Sumitra Modi, 60 Hamey Gupta, 7 Abhishek Modi, 31 Sheetal Jain, 35 Priyansh Agarwal, 4 Pratham Agarwal,1 Arushi Jain, 3 Rishab Jain, 4 Ania Modi, 3 Iraaj Modi, 2 Varsha Modi, 35 Pankaj Modi, 36 Rajini Modi, 32 Iddu Modi, 4 The timeline Eyewitnesses returning from morning prayers noticed the fire around: 5.50 am Call received: 6.16 am First fire engine arrival: 6.20 am A relative grieves the death of 17 members of her family due to a fire at Gulzar Houz near Charminar in Hyderabad on Sunday | Sri Loganathan Velmurugan 50 residents of g+3 rescued by fire dept Picture shared by Fire department shows a fireman rescuing a child at Mailardevpally in Hyderabad on Sunday morning prayers or stepping out for tea attempted rescue efforts before fire personnel arrived. Hyderabad: A fire broke out in a G+3 building with a penthouse in Moghal Colony, Mailardevpally, around 7.18 am on Sunday. Fire officials said that they suspect a short circuit to be the cause. The Chandrayangutta fire station team responded promptly, bringing the blaze under control within 90 minutes and rescuing 50 people, including a 15-month-old boy. No casualties were reported, the department said. Locals also used private vehicles to rush the injured to hospitals as ambulances were delayed.  continued on P2 Fire extinguished: Within 2 hours Men in action 87 (70 staff + 17 officers) Breathing apparatus used by 8 rescuers 4 Most victims unconscious when firemen reached them saved from terrace with help of ladders Water sources: Each fire engine carried 4,500 litres; bowsers carried 9,000, 10,000, and 14,000 litres Fire officer (DFO Venkanna) hospitalised CM orders probe Extending his condolences, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordered a thorough probe to determine the cause of the fire. The state government announced ex gratia of `5 lakh each | P3 ISIS module busted by TG, AP intel cops Express News Service @ Hyderabad Telangana and Andhra Pradesh counter-intelligence units arrested two suspected ISIS sympathisers, effectively foiling a cross-border terror plot targeting Hyderabad in the process. Explosives, including ammonia, sulphur and aluminium powder, were seized during a search, police said on Sunday . According to police sources, the suspects — Siraj-ur-Rahman (29) from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, and Saeed Sameer (28) from Bhoiguda, Hyderabad — were arrested on charges of plotting bomb blasts under directives from the ISISaffiliated Al Hind Ittehadul Misilena, reportedly based in Saudi Arabia. Siraj had allegedly procured explosive materials in Vizianagaram and even conducted a dummy bomb trial in the Rampachodavaram forest to assess the impact. Following the trial, he concluded that more powerful explosives would be needed to cause greater destruction in Hyderabad. Acting on inputs, the counter intelligence (CI) cell alerted Vizianagaram police, who detained Siraj. During interrogation, he confessed to his involvement and disclosed the Assam Man Arrested For links to pak Sangareddy: A 19-year-old mason working in Gollapalli village of Kondapur mandal was arrested by Assam police on May 14 for allegedly supplying mobile connections to cybercriminals, including persons in Pakistan. The arrest comes in the wake of the recent Pahalgam terror attack and escalating India-Pakistan tensions | P2 details of his plan, as well as the name of his associate, Sameer. Based on the information provided, police raided a location and recovered explosive materials. Sameer was subsequently picked up in Hyderabad, though no explosives were found at his residence. Police sources said Siraj had visited Saudi Arabia twice in the last six months, during which he allegedly made contact with the AHIM module and received instructions for the planned attacks in Hyderabad. Senior police officials said the suspects had not revealed their intended targets or the number of locations surveyed. The investigation is ongoing to uncover the full extent of their plans. Both men are likely to be produced in court soon. INSIDE Prices of liquor to go up marginally in TG I P4 Rare setback for Isro’s PSLV I P5 Op Sindoor: Ashoka Prof arrested for post I P8