The deceased were identified as Rakesh Singh, a journalist for a Hindi newspaper, and Pintu Sahu (45).
Police said both were referred to the KGMU Trauma Center in Lucknow, where they succumbed to burns.
Police said the incident took place at Rakesh’s residence, which is in Kalvari village, below the district’s Kotwali Dehat Police Station.
Balrampur SP Dev Ranjan Verma, who visited the crime scene, said that prima facie it appeared that the deceased were possibly sitting with some of their acquaintances and an argument ensued. After which, any of them started a fire and fled the scene.
“The door was found to be locked from the outside. The fire occurred only in the room of the deceased. A team of forensic experts also visited the scene and will soon reveal their prima facie findings,” Verma said.
The wife of one of the deceased along with their children had gone to their parents’ home, police said.
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