The Kherwadi cop, who sustained 95 per cent burns in a fire at the police station’s storeroom, succumbed early Tuesday, said the police. The family of Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Arvind Khot told mid-day that he was overwhelmed with the responsibilities at the storeroom and had requested his senior for a transfer to another department, but he refused. Meanwhile, the police told mid-day that a burnt lighter was found in the storeroom and could be a crucial piece of evidence.

The investigating officer in the case said, “We will send the burnt lighter for forensic examination. The items kept inside the storeroom are old and we found burnt mobile phones as well as broken perfume bottles there. Witnesses said they heard a blast during the fire. We suspect the seized mobile phones had exploded and the perfumes could have aggravated the fire.”