A devastating fire, suspected to be caused by an electrical short circuit, claimed the lives of four individuals, including a pregnant woman and her young daughter, in Vita, Sangli

KOLHAPUR: Four people, including a pregnant woman and her two-year-old daughter, died in a major fire that broke out in an electronics and steel shop at Vita in Sangli district on Monday morning.According to Sangli police, an electrical short circuit is suspected to have triggered the fire, though the fire brigade is still investigating the exact cause. Police said the victims likely died of asphyxia due to suffocation caused by dense black smoke that engulfed the building.The shop owner, Vishnu Pandurang Joshi (47), and his family lived on the second and third floors of the same building that housed the shop on the ground floor. Along with Joshi, his wife Sunanda (42), pregnant daughter Priyanka Yogesh Ingale (25), and granddaughter Srushti (2) died in the blaze, police said.Officers added that Priyanka had been staying at her parents’ home with her daughter to attend her brother’s wedding, which was scheduled for November 16.