Teenage student dies, 3 others injured in Anantnag seminary blaze

Anantnag, May 12: A teenage student dies while three others were injured after a fire broke out at a seminary in the Old MattanAdda area of Anantnag town on Monday night, officials said.

The fire erupted around 1:30 am at Faizan Baba Hyder Reshi Darul Uloom, triggering panic among students residing in the building.

Fire and Emergency Services personnel, assisted by locals, rushed to the spot and launched a rescue and firefighting operation.

Several students were evacuated from the premises, preventing a larger tragedy, officials said.

Four students sustained burn injuries and were shifted to Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag for treatment.

One of the injured students, identified as Bilal Ahmad, 15, son of Muhammad Akbar of Choidraman village of Warwan Valley in Kishtwar district, later succumbed to his injuries, officials said.

The injured were identified as SabitFayaz and Sahil Ahmad, both residents of Sangaldan, Ramban, and Irfan Ahmad of Pahalgam.

Doctors at the hospital said the condition of the injured students was stable.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anantnag Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) AnantnagAmod Ashok Nagpure visited the site of the incident and later met the injured students at the hospital.

Leaders of various political parties and religious scholars, including Maulana Abdul Rashid Dawoodi also visited to express solidarity with the families of the deceased and injured.

Police registered a case and started an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire.

Officials suspect the blaze may have been caused by a short circuit and spread rapidly due to cooking gas cylinders inside the building.

Eyewitnesses said the fire appeared to start from the rooftop portion of the structure and quickly engulfed the upper floor because the building was largely made of wood.

“The students ran out in panic, but some got trapped in the flames and sustained burn injuries,” an eyewitness said.

The incident triggered grief and panic among students, residents and the seminary administration.

Locals gathered at the site through the night as rescue teams battled the flames.

Officials said more than 40 students, most from remote areas, were staying at the seminary hostel facility.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the incident, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Anantnag sought a safety audit of all DarulUlooms and other residential facilities housing children in the district.

In an order issued by the committee’s Chairperson to the Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, the CWC stated it observed that “from last year fire and other incidents are frequently occurring in such facilities which need immediate and concrete intervention to safeguard the lives of children.”

Referring to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the committee said, “All measures shall be taken to ensure that the child is safe and is not subjected to any harm.”

“Keeping in view the present circumstances and provisions of JJ Act 2015, it is requested that a committee may be framed to conduct the safety audit of such facilities in the best interest of children and directions may be passed to take necessary steps and measures to ensure the safety of children,” the order reads.

The order, issued under No 720-23/CWC/Ang/2026 dated May 12, was also forwarded to the Mission Director, Mission Vatsalya J&K (UT), and the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Anantnag.