E-Paper
4 dead, 8 injured in major blaze at Lucknow hotel
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath visits the injured in hospital and orders probe into the incident; two owners of hotel along with manager arrested
LUCKNOW Four people, including an engaged couple, were killed in a major fire that broke out at a four-floor hotel on Madan Mohan Malviya Marg in the heart of the city early on Monday morning. At least 24 other people were rescued from the hotel and eight of them were undergoing treatment at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital here, said police.
The couple was identified as Gurnoor Singh Anand, 28, of Naka Hindola (Lucknow) and Sahiba Kaur, 26, of Ganeshganj (Lucknow). The two other deceased were Shravika Singh, 18, of Sector 17, Indira Nagar and Mohd Aman Ghazi, 18, of Gudamba (Lucknow), said officials.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath visited the injured in the hospital and enquired about their health. He also ordered a joint probe by divisional commissioner Roshan Jacob and commissioner of police SB Shiradkar into the incident.
Hours after the fire incident, the owners of Levana Suites – Rahul and Rohit Agarwal, along with hotel manager Sagar Srivastava – were arrested after an FIR was lodged against them under IPC sections 304 (for causing death due to negligent act) and 308 (for risking people’s lives with their act).Rohit’s father Pawan Agarwal was also named in the FIR, said police.
The blaze was so intense that over 15 fire tenders and a team of over 30 fire fighters took over five hours to douse the flames. The rescue teams also used bulldozers to break a wall on the first floor to help in the fire fighting. Both NDRF and SDRF teams were also pressed for the rescue operation. Four fire fighters were rushed to the hospital after they suffered breathing problem due to the smoke inside the hotel.
“According to the hotel owner, there are 30 rooms in the building and 18 were occupied at the time of the incident. The fire could have been caused by a short circuit and the exact cause is being ascertained. The hotel owner told us that there is a banquet on the first floor where something happened,” said district magistrate Suryapal Gangwar.
UP director general of police (DGP) issued directives to authorities to immediately launch a three-day drive to carry out fire safety audits at hotels, malls, schools, hospitals, high-rise buildings and business installations across the state.
One of the survivors, Ansh Kaushik, who was putting up in a hotel room, said it was around 7.30 am when he noticed smoke in his room. “I managed to escape out in the open by removing the window pane. I came down via the ladder put up by fire fighters to rescue us.” Kaushik is a private company employee from Noida and had come to Lucknow for official work.
Defence minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh tweeted: “My office is in touch with the local administration and collected details about the incident. Rescue efforts are underway. I pray for speeding recovery of injured people.”
Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak said stern action would be taken against those responsible for the incident. He also visited the hotel to take stock of the rescue operation.
Additional DCP (central) Rajesh Srivastava said all the four deceased were Lucknow residents and their family members had been informed about the incident.
“The hotel was sealed for forensic examination after confirmation that nobody was left inside,” he said.
Principal secretary (home) Sanjay Prasad issued an order for the constitution of two-member probe committee and asked it to submit a report at the earliest. The panel comprising divisional commissioner and commissioner of police visited the hotel to examine the rescue operation.
According to a statement by the district magistrate’s office, two visitors – Naina Tewari (staying in hotel room number 314) and Ujjwal Mishra (in room number 208) – were reported missing after the incident. Officials said the district administration tried to enquire about them from the contact numbers and last dialled calls of their mobile phones, but in vain. “We are trying to know about their wellness through electronic surveillance,” the press note added.
