Gulzar House inferno: Modi’s family lost crores as jewellery shop gutted; stores close in solidarity

Hyderabad: A day after the Gulzar House inferno, which killed 17 from a single family, including an infant, jewellery store owners pulled down shutters as a mark of respect, and the area has been cordoned off.

The police had secured the facility on Sunday afternoon and prohibited anyone from entering on Monday. Visits by VIPs were permitted only till the shutter leading to the building's entrance.

The quantum of loss caused to Krishna Jewellers, the stored owned by the Modi family, is estimated to be in crores of rupees. The Gold, Silver, and Pearl Traders Association conducted a condolence gathering in the afternoon and observed a two-minute silence.

The members of the association urged the State government to take quick corrective action to prevent future occurrences of these kinds of situations.

Police register FIR following fire mishap

An FIR has been filed in this case, and multiple agencies, such as the fire safety and electricity departments, are conducting their individual inspections.

According to the complaint lodged by Utkarsh Modi, a relative of the victims, the fire broke out around 6:10 am. He stated that his father, Vinod Modi, received an urgent call from a family acquaintance, Rahul, prompting them to rush to the house. By the time they arrived, flames had already spread through the ground and second floors of the building.

Dense smoke trapped residents

Rescue operations were swiftly initiated by personnel from the Fire Department and Disaster Response Force (DRF). Several injured individuals were shifted to nearby hospitals for emergency medical care. However, dense smoke trapped the residents inside, rendering many unconscious before they could be rescued.

At the time of the incident, 21 members of the Modi family were present in the house, having returned from a family event the previous night. As the fire spread rapidly—suspected to have been intensified by the explosion of four air conditioning compressors—many of the victims were unable to escape. The main exit was blocked by flames and attempts to reach the upper floors were also thwarted by thick smoke and fire.

Firefighters, along with locals, managed to enter the building through a rear opening and rescued some family members. Despite their efforts, 17 people succumbed to smoke inhalation, while four survived and are recovering after treatment.

Two shops were gutted in fire

All the deceased persons were later shifted to Osmania General Hospital for Post-Mortem Examination (PME). Apart from the above loss of lives, the two shops existing on the ground floor viz., Modi Pearls and Krishna Pearls & Jewellers, are also fully burnt in the fire. Therefore, Utkarsh Modi requested to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter, to know the cause of the fire and take appropriate legal action as per the law.

The police are currently examining all possible causes of the fire. Suspicion around the exact trigger of the blaze has led to a thorough forensic investigation. Officials have assured that a detailed report will be released once the inquiry is complete.