Hyderabad: A govt school teacher was charred to death in his sleep at his home apparently after the bed caught fire from his lit cigarette in Mangalathanda in Kodad mandal in Suryapet district on Sunday.
Dharavath Balaji (52) had been drinking since Sunday morning and had slept off in the verandah. The cigarette that he was smoking reportedly resulted in the bed and cot catching fire, police said. The neighbours, who saw the fire, put it out, but Balaji had died by then, police said.
Balaji worked at the govt school in Chennakeshavapuram in Nandigudem mandal. He was alone at home at the time of the incident. Police said he had some domestic issues and his wife and children did not live with him.