Bengaluru woman techie killed in Subramanya Layout house fire

A 34-year-old software engineer has died of suspected suffocation following a fire that broke out at her rented accommodation in Bengaluru’s Subramanya Layout earlier this week, police have confirmed.

The victim, identified as Sharmila, a native of Mangaluru employed with the multinational firm Accenture, was discovered unconscious inside the smoke-filled house after emergency services extinguished the flames. She was declared dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital.

According to a report by NDTV, the incident occurred on the night of January 3 but has only recently come to light. The homeowner, Vijayendra, alerted the Ramamurthy Nagar police after seeing smoke billowing from the property around 10.30 pm.

Fire and emergency personnel forced entry into the building, which was already engulfed in thick, heavy smoke. After dousing the fire, they located Sharmila inside.

Preliminary investigations suggest Sharmila was unable to escape due to the intensity of the fire and smoke. Police believe the blaze originated in a room occupied by a friend of the victim, who was away in her native place at the time. Sharmila was residing in the other room.

Officials theorise that upon opening her door, Sharmila was overwhelmed by the dense smoke, inhaling a fatal amount and collapsing. She had moved to Bengaluru for her career roughly a year ago.

An unnatural death case has been registered at the Ramamurthy Nagar police station. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has examined the site as authorities continue to investigate the precise cause of the fire, the NDTV report stated.