NEW DELHI, May 29 -- Former Haryana IAS officer Dhanendra Kumar, the founding chairman of India's anti-trust watchdog Competition Commission of India, died after a suspected air-conditioner blast triggered a fire at his Hauz Khas residence late Wednesday night, police said. His son sustained injuries due to smoke inhalation while attempting to rescue him. The incident took place around 11pm at the family's residence in Hauz Khas Enclave. Kumar was a 1968 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer who served as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister during the Congress rule under then CM, Bhajan Lal. Kumar went on to serve as the Executive Director of the World Bank in Washington DC and also served as Secretary to Government of India. Deputy commissioner of police (south) Anant Mittal said police and emergency personnel rushed to the spot after receiving a PCR call about the fire. "The blaze was brought under control with the help of residents and police personnel," he said. At the time of the incident, Kumar who would have turned 80 on June 6, his wife Manju, son Gourav, 49, and two domestic helps were inside the house. According to police, the preliminary inquiry suggests the fire started after a blast in the indoor unit of an air-conditioner in Gourav's room. The exact cause will be determined after an inspection by the electrical inspector. Police said Kumar was found unconscious inside the washroom, apparently due to heavy smoke inhalation. "No burn injuries were found on his body," an officer said. He was taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre in a PCR van along with Gourav, who later admitted himself to hospital after complaining of uneasiness caused by smoke exposure. Kumar died during treatment, while Gourav remains under medical supervision and is stated to be out of danger. An official at the AIIMS Trauma Centre mortuary said Kumar was admitted around midnight and died at 7.50am on Thursday. Speaking to HT, Kumar's manager Naresh Sejwal said the fire spread rapidly after the AC unit exploded in Gourav's room. "Kumar sir was in the washroom when the fire broke out. The fire spread quickly across the room and lobby. His wife is wheelchair-bound, so Gourav first helped her get out of the house. He then went back inside with two domestic helps to search for his father, but by then he had collapsed in the washroom," Sejwal said. The three pulled Kumar out of the house, but he was unconscious, he added. Kumar who joined the civil service in 1968, held several key administrative and international assignments during his career. Internationally, he served as executive director at the World Bank from 2005 to 2009, representing India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. He later became the founding chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI)....