Retired BSF jawan Dhruv Singh, 65, died late on Sunday night in Sarnya village under Pakdi police station in Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh, after a thatched roof collapsed on him while he was trying to rescue a cow from a burning hut. The cow also died under the debris.
According to a report published by Jagran on 5 October 2026, a fire broke out in a residential hut in the village late on Sunday. Flames trapped a cow inside. Singh entered the hut to free the animal. While he was inside, the thatch, already weakened by the fire, gave way and fell on him. He and the cow were buried under the debris and both died.
The cause of the fire has not been established. Villagers who saw flames rising from the hut reached the spot and tried to put the fire out, but the roof had already collapsed. After sustained effort they brought the blaze under control.
Singh was the elder brother of Pandah Munna Singh, a former block chief. He is survived by his wife, Savitri, who was reported to be in deep distress, and two sons — Bhola, 20, and Balwant Singh, 30.
News of the death spread mourning through the village. Residents gathered at the house to offer condolences, and the incident caused shock across the area. Villagers recalled his decision to go into the burning hut to save the animal.
Pakdi station in-charge Ranjeet Vishwakarma took possession of the body and sent it for post-mortem.
No official account of Singh’s unit, length of service, or the precise origin of the fire has been reported. The account above is drawn from the Jagran report of 5 October 2026.
