Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed deep sorrow over a devastating fire that claimed the lives of at least eight family members in the Brijeshwari Annexe area of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, in the early hours of Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The Prime Minister took to social media to extend his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the mishap. To provide immediate relief, the Prime Minister’s Office announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each deceased, while the injured will receive ₹50,000. This tragic incident, which occurred around 4:00 AM, has sent shockwaves through the local community, as authorities work to support the survivors and investigate the circumstances that led to such a significant loss of life within a single residential structure.
Preliminary investigations by the Indore Police suggest that the blaze was triggered by a short circuit or explosion at an electric vehicle (EV) charging point outside the three-storey house, which quickly spread to a car and then engulfed the building. The catastrophe was reportedly intensified by the presence of nearly ten LPG cylinders stored inside the house, several of which exploded, causing a portion of the structure to collapse and trapping residents behind sophisticated electronic locks that failed during the power outage. State Cabinet Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who visited the site to oversee relief operations, described the event as a grave warning regarding the safety protocols of EV charging in residential areas and has directed the formation of an expert committee to probe the incident. As the city mourns the victims—including two minor children and three women—the state government has promised the implementation of new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to prevent similar tragedies, emphasizing the need for stricter regulations on the storage of flammable materials in high-density housing.
