Man returns to find home on fire
Mr Chand and his wife, Shalini Prasad, were too distraught as they recalled all the wonderful memories they had there.
Thursday 10 July 2025 | 00:43
Bimlesh Chand with wife Shalini Prasad. on July 9, 2024.
Photo: Wati Talebula
Bimlesh Chand was told there was a house fire in his area. He later found out it was his.
Thirteen years of memory flashed before his eyes as he watched his home at Jittu Estate up in flames. Mr Chand and his wife, Shalini Prasad, were too distraught as they recalled all the wonderful memories they had there.
Mr Chand’s cousin, Ashika Nand, 40, claimed her brother was the only one present when the fire started. “My brother smelled smoke and got up to open the door to the middle room,” she said. “When he opened it, he saw flames. There was an explosion from that room, which I believe was caused by the television.”
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The scene at a home in Jittu Estate on July 9, 2024.
Wati Talebula
She claimed her brother burnt himself in his attempt to extinguish the fire.
“In one part of the house my mom, dad, and my brother lived,” she said. “In another room lives my cousin brother, his wife, and two kids while the third room is rented to a Fijian lady.
“We have lived here since childhood, gradually moving out over time.”
Bimlesh Chand
“I don’t know the value of this house because it has been in my family for generations. “We have lived here since childhood, gradually moving out over time.”
Police officers and National Fire Authority officers were also at the scene.
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