Jaunpur (UP), Apr 23 (UNI) An elderly couple died after the thatched roof of a house caught fire due to a short circuit in Teji Bazar area of Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, police sources said here.

Police sources said that Sadhu Gautam (73), a resident of Bangawan village, was resting under the thatched roof with his 70-year-old wife Shobhavati when the flames from the house of neighbour Amrit Lal engulfed the thatched roof of his house.

In this incident, Shobhavati and Sadhu Gautam sustained serious injuries.

"The fire was somehow controlled by the villagers, but the wife could not come out due to old age. Sadhu, who sustained serious burn injuries, was taken to the district hospital where he died during treatment," they said.

Police said that the couple's son Pyare Lal works as a labourer and is currently ill. "Pyare Lal said that five quintals of wheat, a fan, a pet rabbit and household items kept in the house were gutted in the fire," they said.

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